Global Military Spending - NEWS ONLY

[Grey Havoc]

Special US fund to replace Russian equipment in Europe is shifting its strategy

The European Recapitalization Incentive Program has now supported eight European nations in buying American gear.

www.defensenews.com

 

[bobbymike]

China’s Defense Budget in Context: How Under-Reporting and Differing Standards and Economies Distort the Picture

The U.S. 2018 National Defense Strategy states: “Today, we are emerging from a period of strategic atrophy, aware that our competitive military advantage has been eroding.”

www.heritage.org

 

[bobbymike]

Pentagon seeks to classify future year defense spending plans

The Future Year Defense Program spending projections have been unclassified since 1989.

www.defensenews.com

 

[bobbymike]

Trump’s Defense Budget Request Leans Toward the Far Future

Back on Feb. 15, when the Department of Defense released its budget request, the world and the United States looked a lot different. The NBA was coming out of its All-Star game, college basketball was gearing up for March Madness, and offices and highways were packed.

www.heritage.org

 

[bobbymike]

Defence spending and plans: will the Covid-19 pandemic take its toll? | Free IISS analysis

That the Covid-19 pandemic will have an impact on defence ministries is beyond doubt, but can governments and defence ministries find a way to deal with the possible effects on military spending and resource allocations?

www.iiss.org

 

[bobbymike]

Six ways the US can maximize its strategic benefit from defense spending

How can the United States realize the greatest economic and military benefit from the defense budget in the coming years?

www.defensenews.com

 

[bobbymike]

DoD Budget Cuts Likely As $4 Trillion Deficit Looms - Breaking Defense

"I think the budget comes down sooner rather than later," Mackenzie Eaglen, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and former congressional staffer, said today.

breakingdefense.com

 

[bobbymike]

8 steps to fully funding our Air and Space forces

America’s dominance in the air, space and cyber domains has been our asymmetric advantage for decades. Yet, this dominance can no longer be taken for granted.

www.defensenews.com

 

[bobbymike]

Defense budget brawl looms after pandemic

Defense budget cuts are looming as the coronavirus pandemic places pressure on the federal budget across various agencies.The Pentagon had already been expecting relatively flat budgets for the nex…

thehill.com

—————————
So the COVID stimulus will be around $3 trillion or ~4X the current defense budget. Cuts would be absolute maximum of $75 billion or 2.5% of stimulus spending to gut the defense budget and as the article says it’s not to cut spending as that money will go to other programs.

So no cuts in total spending, no reduction of the deficit but defense is drastically cut.

Cui Bono?

 

[bobbymike]

Bulging deficits may threaten prized Pentagon arms projects

The government’s $3 trillion effort to rescue the economy from the coronavirus crisis is stirring worry at the Pentagon. Bulging federal deficits may force a reversal of years of big defense spending gains and threaten prized projects like the rebuilding of the nation’s arsenal of nuclear weapons.

www.militarytimes.com

 

[bobbymike]

Don’t Use COVID As Excuse to Slash Defense Spending - Breaking Defense

Opponents of defense spending may cite the economic consequences of COVID-19 — huge deficits and ballooning national debt— in an effort to slash the Department of Defense’s budget. If they succeed, American military supremacy will erode further, inviting aggression from adversaries and...

breakingdefense.com

 

[bobbymike]

China's defence budget likely to grow despite economic cost of coronavirus

China, facing what it sees as increasing military pressure from the United States, is likely to shrug off the pall hanging over its economy from the novel coronavirus and increase its defence budget again this year.

www.reuters.com

 

[bobbymike]

Meanwhile

Army Braces For Post-COVID Cuts: Gen. Murray - Breaking Defense

“I've heard some people talk about [going] back to a BCA [Budget Control Act] level of funding,” Gen. Murray says, referring to the steep cuts also known as sequestration. “And I've heard some people say that it's even going to be worse than BCA.”

breakingdefense.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

Progressive lawmakers push to slash defense budget during pandemic

The left flank's early opposition to increased defense spending could throw a wrench into House leaders' aims to pass a bipartisan policy bill with fewer headaches than last year.

www.politico.com

 

[bobbymike]

SASC Trims Hypersonics & Robot Ships, Boosts Ships & F-35 - Breaking Defense

Skeptical senators on the Senate Armed Services Committee want to slow down bleeding-edge prototypes, while building up more traditional weapons.

breakingdefense.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

They are still throwing more good money after bad with regards as to the F-35, sigh.

 

[Grey Havoc]

HASC Wants Answers On Pacific Fuel & Europe HQ - Breaking Defense

The HASC readiness subcommittee also wants to create a comprehensive quadrennial review of what it’ll really take to supply and sustain the global force.

breakingdefense.com

 

[bobbymike]

Scott Morrison evokes World War II as Australia unveils larger, more lethal defence strategy

Australia will adopt a more aggressive defence strategy designed to counter the rising threat from China, with Scott Morrison warning the country faces regional challenges on a scale not seen since World War II.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Grey Havoc]

Unless they actually start building honest to god cruisers, I fear that it will amount to not much more than hot air. Of which Australia has way too much of already. (Flees as lynch mob rapidly assembles.)

 

[Grey Havoc]

India accelerates weapons purchases in wake of border clash with China

The Indian government is prepared to purchase weapons from the U.S., Russia, Israel and its local defense industry.

www.defensenews.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

House panel isn’t giving defense industry all the COVID aid it wants

The aid falls short of the “lower double-digit billions” Pentagon officials say defense firms will claim.

www.defensenews.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

EU Initiatives Could Bolster European Defense Post-COVID | Aviation Week Network

Initiatives such as the European Defense Fund and PESCO could give the European defense industry a leg-up in the post-coronavirus era.

aviationweek.com

 

[bobbymike]

Defund Pentagon effort holds message for Biden

Progressive Democrats are offering amendments that would cut each chamber’s $740.5 billion defense policy bill by about $74 billion.

www.defensenews.com

 

[bobbymike]

The Price of Cutting Defense Spending

Ever had a major expense pop up? Perhaps your car’s transmission fails, or the sewage line from your house to the county line gets clogged and everything backs up into your basement. Or you catch a virus that puts you in the hospital for a couple of weeks. All these have happened to me. Oddly...

www.heritage.org

 

[bobbymike]

Defense authorization bill delayed until after election

A bipartisan compromise and vote on the 2021 defense policy bill isnât likely before the Nov. 3 electionsâbut it should come âquicklyâ afterwards, the House Armed Services Committeeâs top Republican said Wednesday.

www.defensenews.com

 

[bobbymike]

Japan reveals record high budget request eyeing hypersonic tech, F-35s and more

Japan is set to continue its recent trend of setting new records for its annual defense budgets, with the country continuing to cast a wary eye on China’s military modernization and nuclear-armed North Korea’s missile program.

www.defensenews.com

 

[bobbymike]

Dems Likely To War Over Defense After Election; Navy A Big Target: HASC Chair Smith - Breaking Defense

Smith sees a blue wave as exposing fissures within the party over "how much do you spend on defense, and what does your presence in the world look like," Smith said, noting that progressives are skeptical about defense spending and overseas deployments

breakingdefense.com

 

[bobbymike]

Defense aerospace primes are raking in money for classified programs

Here's everything aerospace industry executives told investors about the secret aviation programs they're working on.

www.defensenews.com

 

[bobbymike]

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson Pledges $32B Military Build-Up - USNI News

Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday committed the British government to an expansion of defense spending that confirms London’s ambitions about improving the Royal Navy through the middle of the century. The pledge of about £24.1 billion — or just under $32 billion — supports Johnson’s...

news.usni.org

 

[bobbymike]

US Army preps to rework modernization priorities if future budget top line drops

If defense budgets see top-line reductions in the future, the Army will have to make tough decisions on its modernization priorities, but will do what it can to preserve the most critical, according to the Army G-8 chief.

www.defensenews.com

 

[bobbymike]

Congress Pushes Forward Defense Bill; Fight with POTUS Looms - Breaking Defense

Whatever happens with the 2021 budget, ":I suspect that the Pentagon's budgets will start flattening out," Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley said today. "There's a reasonable prospect that they could actually decline significantly."

breakingdefense.com

I suspect that the Pentagon's budgets will start flattening out," Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley said today. "There's a reasonable prospect that they could actually decline significantly."​

 

[bobbymike]

CJCS Milley Predicts DoD Budget 'Bloodletting' To Fund Navy - Breaking Defense

"Look, I'm an Army guy,” Milley said. "And I love the Army...but the fundamental defense of the United States and the ability to project power forward will always be for America naval and air and space power."

breakingdefense.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

What Does Democratic Control Of Congress Mean For Defense? | Aviation Week Network

The Democrats will take the reins of power in Washington on Jan. 20 when President-Elect Joe Biden is sworn into office, as the party will control both the House and Senate as well. But does this mean a reduction to the defense budget is inevitable?

aviationweek.com

 

[bobbymike]

America’s Strategic Choices: Defense Spending in a Post-COVID-19 World | CSBA

CSBA is an independent, non-partisan policy research institute established to promote innovative thinking and debate about national security strategy and investment options.

csbaonline.org

 

[Grey Havoc]

How India May Rely On Its Navy To Offset China | Aviation Week Network

Naval aviation is essential to New Delhi’s plan to protect sea lanes after last year’s land-based standoff with Chinese forces.

aviationweek.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

AMD looking to reposition SA defence industry amid uncertain times - defenceWeb

The South African Aerospace, Maritime and Defence Industry Association (AMD) hopes to lead the local defence industry out of the quagmire it finds itself in due to uncertainty amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. AMD Chairperson Sefale Montsi, in a New Year’s message to members, wrote that the South...

www.defenceweb.co.za

 

[Grey Havoc]

Bill would cut over 100,000 DoD jobs

Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif., introduced the Rebalance for an Effective Defense Uniform and Civilian Employees Act, which mandates a 15 percent reduction in civilian Defense Department employees.

www.federaltimes.com

 

[bobbymike]

DoD Budget 'Bloodletting' Inches Closer To Reality - Breaking Defense

The Pentagon is at an "inflection point" in terms of how to split the military budget between the services, Rep. Joe Courtney said, a growing recognition that the budget calculus is about to change.

breakingdefense.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

So it increasingly looks like war on multiple fronts, with an increasingly degraded military on a shoestring budget at best (said shoestring excluding of course the HQ and commissar, sorry, 'Political Diversity' types).

 

[bobbymike]

No Growth, No Big Cuts Likely For First Biden Defense Budget - Breaking Defense

The full budget, set to be released on May 3, should spark heated debate in Congress between an emboldened progressive wing of the Democratic party looking to cut defense budgets, and Republicans and conservative Democrats who say spending must increase to stay ahead of the Chinese military buildup.

breakingdefense.com