Russia now world’s No. 2 in arms sales, report shows

 

Russia is now the world’s second-largest arms producer, overtaking Britain and moving behind only the United States, researchers said Monday.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said in a report sales of arms and military services totaled $398.2 billion in 2017. The figure, which excludes China because of a lack of available data, is 2.5 percent higher than it was the previous year and 44 percent higher than it was in 2002.

Will Donald Trump Make Germany Great Again?

German ‘Bundeswehr’ army soldiers pictured at the training ground during the preparations of the ‘Landoperationen 2017’ military exercise in Munster, Germany, (Philipp Schulze/picture alliance via Getty Images)

 

The U.S. president wants Germany to be the world’s third-largest military spender.

United States President Donald Trump agrees a lot with the Trumpet when it comes to world news. Certainly not always. But consider his recent trip to Europe.

He warned that Germany was too close to Russia. Last year we called that alliance “The Russian Alliance You Really Have to Worry About.” He said that Europe is attacking America on trade. Ten years ago, Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry warned that Europe was waging “a quiet but concerted war on American commerce.” President Trump complains that the U.S. spends billions defending Europe. In the 1950s, Herbert W. Armstrong warned that “in spending unprecedented billions of your dollars and mine—tax dollars—preparing Germany and Europe for defense,” America was making a huge mistake.

A few weeks ago, someone wrote in to ask me why I’m so pro-Trump. This is not about being pro-Trump or anti-Trump. We are saying what we have always said—he just happens to be saying it too.

So there was a lot to like about his Europe trip. But there is also a major danger.

Donald Trump’s Europe trip could be a milestone in making Germany great again, and in turning Germany against America.

Germany’s Contribution to the Bomb

BERLIN/WASHINGTON (Own report) – The modernization of nuclear weapons – already possessed by nine countries, and affecting Germany through “nuclear sharing” – is rapidly progressing, according to a current analysis of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The overall number of nuclear weapons in the world has slightly decreased SIPRI notes. However, new US-bombs (B61-12), for example, are much more precise than their predecessor models. Experts warn that this development could lower the threshold for their possible use. The B61-12 bombs are likely to be stationed also at the German Air Base in Büchel in the hills of the Eifel. Germany’s “nuclear sharing” status has already prompted discussions in the arms industry. Airbus has begun to design a successor model to the tornado jet fighter, which is currently certified for the B61. If this next generation jet fighter is to be certified also for the US bomb, all its construction details would have to be revealed to the USA, a prospect being met with misgivings in the Berlin establishment. It has recently been reported that the URENCO nuclear fuel company, which also has a plant in Gronau (North Rhine-Westphalia) has agreed to supply enriched uranium to a US power plant that produces tritium for US nuclear weapons.

Russia threat triggers European military spending hike

Most nations in Europe have increased their military spending. (Photo: Finnish army)

 

A perceived threat from Russia has triggered a central European dash towards military spending.

Figures presented on Monday (24 April) by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) show military expenditures in Central Europe grew by 2.4 percent in 2016.

Russia and China Increase Defense Spending While US Continues Cutting

 

 

Every year at this time, we see the same kind of headlines: “U.S. biggest military spender in the world.” They’re are all based on the release of the global military spending database, an annual report compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

What the headlines usually miss is that U.S. defense spending is going down while global military spending is going up. The fact that the U.S. spends more on defense than any other individual nation dramatically misses the point.

Saudi Arabia Versus Iran

The military pros and cons for the leaders of Sunni and Shia Islam

In the Middle East, two Muslim powerhouses are squaring off. In one corner is Saudi Arabia and the Sunni Muslims. Relatively unseasoned yet well equipped, the house of Saud and its allies have been working feverishly to curtail the rise of their adversary. Shiite Iran stands in the opposing corner. The battle-hardened, though slightly less technologically advanced nation has stunned the Middle East with a string of victories that have seen Iranian hegemony grow to record levels.

Unfortunately, such expansion is quickly leading to confrontation between the two powers. In the event of a conflict, what would the two sides bring to the battle?

Vietnam Buys Deadly New Missiles Capable of Hitting China

 

Hanoi is the first Southeast Asian nation arming its submarines with land attack cruise missiles.

Vietnam is in the process of acquiring 50 anti-ship and land attack 3M-14E Klub supersonic cruise missiles for its burgeoning fleet of SSK Kilo-class diesel-electric submarines, Der Spiegel Online reports.

According to the article, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) recently updated data on its website, based on information obtained from the United Nations’ register of conventional arms, indicating that Russia has already delivered 28 missiles over the last two years to Hanoi, although the precise number remains unknown.

China Made Military History Three Times Last Week

Last week, a group of initially unidentified foreign troops disembarked in the Yemeni port city of Aden which is currently under siege by Iran-backed Rebels seeking to capture one of the last remaining major holdouts still controlled by fighters loyal to President Hadi. When the mystery soldiers arrived, the media made the somewhat logical assumption that a Saudi-led ground incursion had indeed begun. Surprisingly, the soldiers turned out to be Chinese and were in Yemen to ensure the safety of more than 200 civilians evacuating the city in an “unprecedented” move that at least according to one Chinese professor, makes China “look really good.”

The Galloping Militarization of Eurasia

Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula and the deployment of up to 40,000 troops on Ukraine’s border to support the actions of pro-Russian separatist forces have been widely identified as a turning point in the “post-Cold War” European security system. But Russia’s militarized policy toward Ukraine should not be seen as a spontaneous response to the crisis. It has only been possible thanks to a long-term program by Moscow to build up its military capabilities.

A 21ST CENTURY RUSSIAN MILITARY

To be a “great power” – which is the status that Moscow’s political elite claim for Russia – is to have both an international reach and regional spheres of influence. To achieve this, Moscow understands that it must be able to project military force, so the modernization of Russia’s armed forces has become a key element of its “great power” ambitions. For this reason, seven years ago, a politically painful and expensive military modernization program was launched to provide Russia with new capabilities. One of the key aims of this modernization has been to move the Russian military away from a mass mobilization army designed to fight a large-scale war (presumably against NATO) to the creation of smaller and more mobile combat-ready forces designed for local and regional conflicts.

Nato’s Anders Fogh Rasmussen sees power slipping away

There is an unmistakeable sense among Western decision-makers of power slipping away.

It’s not an argument about American abstention or decline, although that plays into it for some critics of the Obama administration.

It is more to do with the exhaustion – moral, political and economic – of nations that have been in the forefront of the international security business, and the vibrant ascendancy of some other players.

Deterring an Asia nuke race

It should be known that Russia also plays the game of pretending to reduce their nuclear stockpiles, often claiming their latest missiles are classified as anything but long-range. The only country playing honest is the United States, which has a false sense of security and has developed the illusion that total disarmament would be a demonstration of moral strength.

SINGAPORE – How many nuclear weapons and delivery systems does a country need as an effective deterrent against the threats of attack? Finding an acceptable balance is critically important in Asia, where four of the world’s nine nuclear-armed states are located.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reported in June that all four Asian nations with nuclear weapons — China, India, Pakistan and North Korea — appeared to be expanding their arsenals while the United States, Russia, France, Britain and Israel were either reducing them or holding the number static.

China, India, Pakistan boost nuclear arsenals: Study

Three of the world’s nuclear powers — China, India and Pakistan — have increased their arsenals over the past year, while the other five have cut their strength or kept it stable, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said Monday.

China now has 250 nuclear warheads against 240 in 2012, while Pakistan has increased its warheads by about 10 to between 100 and 120 and India has also added roughly 10 for a total of 90 to 110, SIPRI said in its annual report.

World Military Spending Falls, But China, Russia’s Spending Rises

World military expenditure totalled $1.75 trillion in 2012, a fall of 0.5 per cent in real terms since 2011, according to figures released today by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

The comprehensive annual update of the SIPRI Military Expenditure Database is accessible from today at http://www.sipri.org.

The fall—the first since 1998—was driven by major spending cuts in the USA and Western and Central Europe, as well as in Australia, Canada and Japan. The reductions were, however, substantially offset by increased spending in Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and Latin America. China, the second largest spender in 2012, increased its expenditure by 7.8 per cent ($11.5 billion). Russia, the third largest spender, increased its expenditure by 16 per cent ($12.3 billion).

With eye on China, India tests new long-range missile

India views the 50-tonne Agni V as a key boost to its regional power aspirations and one that narrows — albeit slightly — the huge gap with China’s technologically advanced missile systems.

…

“The Agni V can strike targets across China, potentially freeing up other short- and intermediate-range missiles for use against Pakistan and much of west and south-central China,” said IHS Jane’s analyst Poornima Subramaniam.

“Extensive land- and sea-launched missile development programmes have become important elements in India’s nuclear strategy, and in that context the Agni V is a significant development,” Subramaniam told AFP.

Full article: With eye on China, India tests new long-range missile (Defence Talk)