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As per a report delivered Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, or SIPRI, nations spent an aggregate of $2,113 billion on their militaries in 2021, up 0.7 percent in genuine terms from the earlier year.
For the first time, global military spending has surpassed $2 trillion per year, and this figure is expected to rise further as European countries beef up their armed forces in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
According to SIPRI data, after a brief period of declining military spending between 2011 and 2014, outlays have increased for seven consecutive years. Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, several European governments have pledged a spending overhaul to improve the capabilities of their armed forces.
“Europe was at that point on a vertical pattern, and this pattern will speed up and strengthen,” said Lucie Beraud-Sudreau, overseer of SIPRI’s tactical consumption and arms creation program, via telephone.
The uptick since 2015 has been fueled in part by increased spending in Europe, following Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, which raised the perceived threat level at the same time as the Trump administration increased pressure on NATO allies to spend more on their armed forces.
In 2021, European spending will account for 20% of global spending, while China’s defence budget, the world’s second largest, will account for 14%.
According to SIPRI, the United States remains by far the largest spender, with $801 billion allocated to the armed forces in 2021. Over the last decade, US military spending has accounted for up to 39% of global expenditures. According to SIPRI researcher Alexandra Marksteiner, while the country’s arms purchases have decreased, more funds have been devoted to military research and development, indicating that the US is focusing more on next-generation technologies.
As European countries from Sweden to Spain pledge to increase defence spending, early indications suggest that modernising and upgrading weapon systems will be a top priority.
In doing so, they must decide whether to prioritise a quick buildup by purchasing off-the-shelf equipment from arms manufacturers around the world, or to take a more long-term approach by increasing funding for domestic industry.
The purchase of arms, however, is not the only requirement highlighted by Russia’s invasion.
“You can see that many of the challenges faced by Russian forces are related to logistics, fuel, tyres, and secure communications,” she said. “While buying that stuff may be less visible, the situation in Ukraine has demonstrated to outside observers how important it is for waging war.”