In another indication that the world is becoming more tense and less stable, a new report notes that global defense spending will rise to Cold War levels next year.
Spending will reach $1.67 trillion in 2018, according to a report by says IHS Jane’s.
The region with the fastest-growing defense expenditures, not surprisingly, is the Baltics region in eastern Europe. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are facing increased pressure from Russia as Moscow looks to expand its influence westward.
“Growth has taken off in Eastern Europe since Russia’s intervention in Ukraine in 2014 with the majority of the new defence funding being put towards military modernization,” wrote Fenella McGerty, principal analyst at IHS Jane’s. “Armored vehicle procurement is on the increase — in fact, Europe is emerging as the leading spender globally in the military ground vehicle market.”
In Western Europe, the report said the region “is still emerging from a tough six-year period where defense spending trended lower between 2009 and 2015.”
“Defense spending growth in Western Europe will largely be driven [by] stabilizing government balance sheets, the perceived threat from Russia on NATO’s eastern border, and several key procurement programs coming online.” McGerty said. [source]
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