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<keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>'s <keyword id="6359526" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="military" source="Orion">military</keyword> spending of $76.6 billion ranked third highest in the world followed by the US and <keyword id="1334" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="china" source="Orion">China</keyword>, stated Sweden based think-tank -- Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) -- in its report published on Monday.<br /><br />The report stated that India's military spending was up by 0.9 per cent from 2020 and by 33 per cent from 2012. In a push to strengthen the indigenous arms industry, 64 per cent of capital outlays in the military budget of 2021 were earmarked for acquisitions of domestically produced arms.<br /><br />India is facing the threat of a two-front war -- from China and Pakistan. Since 2020, India has been engaged in border dispute at Line of Actual Control with China.<br /><br />The report also stated total global military expenditure has increased by 0.7 per cent in real terms in 2021, to reach $2,113 billion.<br /><br />It stated that the five largest spenders in 2021 were the US, China, India, the UK and Russia, together accounting for 62 per cent of expenditure, according to new data on global military spending.<br /><br />World military spending continued to grow in 2021, reaching an all-time high of $2.1 trillion. This was the seventh consecutive year that spending increased.<br /><br />"Even amid the economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic, world military spending hit record levels," said <keyword id="13702792" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="diego-lopes-da-silva" source="Orion">Diego Lopes da Silva</keyword>, Senior Researcher with SIPRI's Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme.<br /><br />"There was a slowdown in the rate of real-terms growth due to inflation. In nominal terms, however, military spending grew by 6.1 per cent."<br /><br />As a result of a sharp economic recovery in 2021, the global military burden -- world military expenditure as a share of world gross domestic product (GDP), fell by 0.1 percentage points, from 2.3 per cent in 2020 to 2.2 per cent in 2021.<br /><br />Meanwhile, the US military spending amounted to $801 billion in 2021, a drop of 1.4 per cent from 2020. The US military burden decreased slightly from 3.7 per cent of GDP in 2020 to 3.5 per cent in 2021.<br /><br />"US funding for military research and development (R&amp;D) rose by 24 per cent between 2012 and 2021, while arms procurement funding fell by 6.4 per cent over the same period. In 2021 spending on both decreased. However, the drop in R&amp;D spending (-1.2 per cent) was smaller than that in arms procurement spending (-5.4 per cent)," the report stated.<br /><br />"The increase in R&amp;D spending over the decade 2012-21 suggests that the United States is focusing more on next-generation technologies," said <keyword id="12676475" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="alexandra-marksteiner" source="Orion">Alexandra Marksteiner</keyword>, Researcher with SIPRI's Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme. The US government has repeatedly stressed the need to preserve the US military's technological edge over strategic competitors.<br /><br />Russia increased its military expenditure by 2.9 per cent in 2021, to $65.9 billion, at a time when it was building up its forces along the Ukrainian border. This was the third consecutive year of growth and Russia's military spending reached 4.1 per cent of GDP in 2021.<br /><br />As it has strengthened its defences against Russia, Ukraine's military spending has risen by 72 per cent since the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Spending fell in 2021, to $5.9 billion, but still accounted for 3.2 per cent of the country's GDP.<br /><br />China, the world's second largest spender, allocated an estimated $293 billion to its military in 2021, an increase of 4.7 per cent compared with 2020. China's military spending has grown for 27 consecutive years. The 2021 Chinese budget was the first under the 14th Five-Year Plan, which runs until 2025.<br /><br /><strong>SEE ALSO:<br /><a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/top-10-most-expensive-shares-in-india/slidelist/91073430.cms">MRF, Page Industries, Nestle among top 10 stocks that are extremely expensive to buy</a><br /></strong><a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/hyundai-motors-profit-up-17-aims-to-sell-4-32-million-vehicles-this-year/articleshow/91073745.cms"><strong>Hyundai Motor's profit up 17%, aims to sell 4.32 million vehicles this year</strong></a><br />

India's military spending 3rd highest in the world, says report

India was the fourth largest military spender globally in 2023 with an expenditure of USD 83.6 billion, behind the US, China and Russia, according to a report by an independent international think-tank.  The report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) shared on its website in April also said the "rise" in global military spending last year can be attributed "primarily to the ongoing war in Ukraine and escalating geopolitical tensions in Asia and Oceania and the Middle East". <br /><br /> The military expenditure went up in all five geographical regions, with major spending increases recorded in Europe, Asia and Oceania and the Middle East, it said. <br /><br /> The report comes amid ongoing conflicts in various parts of the world such as the ones involving Israel-Hamas, Iran-Israel, Russian-Ukraine besides volatility in the Red Sea region. <br /><br /> "World military expenditure increased for the ninth consecutive year in 2023, reaching a total of USD 2443 billion. The 6.8 per cent increase in 2023 was the steepest year-on-year rise since 2009 and pushed global spending to the highest level SIPRI has ever recorded," according to the report. <br /><br /> The <keyword id="21404979" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="world-military-burden" source="keywords">world military burden</keyword> -- defined as military spending as a percentage of global gross domestic product (GDP) -- increased to 2.3 per cent in 2023. Average military expenditure as a share of government expenditure rose by 0.4 percentage points to 6.9 per cent in 2023 and world military spending per person was the highest since 1990 at USD 306, it added. <br /><br /> With military expenditure of USD 83.6 billion in 2023, India was the "fourth largest spender globally". <br /><br /> Indian spending was up by 4.2 per cent from 2022 and by 44 per cent from 2014. The increase in India's military spending was "mainly a result of growing personnel and operations costs" which made up almost 80 per cent of the total military budget in 2023, the <keyword id="20911352" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="SIPRI-report" source="keywords">SIPRI report</keyword> claimed. <br /><br /> "This aligns with the government's priority to strengthen the operational readiness of the armed forces amid ongoing tensions with China and Pakistan. In comparison, capital outlays to fund military procurement remained relatively stable at around 22 per cent of the budget in 2023," it said. <br /><br /> A total of 75 per cent of these outlays went towards equipments produced domestically, which was the highest level ever and up from 68 per cent in the previous year. The continued shift towards domestic procurement reflects India's goal of becoming self-reliant in arms development and production, the think-tank said in its repot fact sheet shared on its website. <br /><br /> The Indian Army has maintained that deployment of its troops and other elements along the LAC is "extremely robust" and "balanced". <br /><br /> The eastern <keyword id="21271073" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ladakh-border-standoff" source="keywords">Ladakh border standoff</keyword> erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong Lake area. The ties between India and China nose-dived significantly following the clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades. <br /><br /> SIPRI is an independent international institute dedicated to research into conflict, armaments, arms control and disarmament. Established in 1966, it provides data, analysis and recommendations based on open sources to policymakers, researchers, media and the interested public. <br /><br /> The Stockholm-based think-tank monitors developments in military expenditure worldwide and maintains the most comprehensive, consistent and extensive publicly available data source on military expenditure, according to its online portal. <br /><br /> The US military spending was USD 916 billion in 2023, which was 2.3 per cent more than in 2022 and 9.9 per cent more than in 2014, the report said. <br /><br /> The US remained by far the largest spender in the world, allocating 3.1 times more to the military than the second largest spender China. "The biggest percentage increase among all US military spending categories in 2023 was for 'research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&amp;E)". <br /><br /> The Stockholm-based think-tank also said in its report that Ukraine was the "eighth largest spender" in 2023 after a spending surge of 51 per cent to reach USD 64.8 billion. This gave Ukraine "a military burden of 37 per cent and represented 58 per cent of total government spending". <br /><br /> "Ukraine's military spending in 2023 was 59 per cent the size of Russia's. However, Ukraine also received at least USD 35 billion in military aid during the year, including USD 25.4 billion from the US. Combined, this aid and Ukraine's own military spending were equivalent to about 91 per cent of Russian spending," the report claimed. <br /><br /> According to the report, Russia's military spending increased by 24 per cent to an estimated USD 109 billion in 2023. <br /><br /> "China, the world's second largest military spender, allocated an estimated USD 296 billion to the military in 2023, an increase of 6 per cent from 2022. This was the 29th consecutive year-on-year rise in China's military expenditure. China accounted for half of total military spending across the Asia and Oceania region. Several of China's neighbours have linked their own spending increases to China's rising military expenditure," the Stockholm-based think-tank claimed in its report. <br /><br /> In 2023, the 31 <keyword id="20763732" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NATO-members" source="keywords">NATO members</keyword> accounted for USD 1,341 billion, equal to 55 per cent of the world's military expenditure, the report said.<br /><br /><b>SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/google-pixel-8a-may-be-more-expensive-than-its-predecessor-as-per-a-new-leak/articleshow/109499394.cms" target="_blank"></a></b><br /><br /> <b><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/google-pixel-8a-may-be-more-expensive-than-its-predecessor-as-per-a-new-leak/articleshow/109499394.cms" target="_blank">Google Pixel 8a may be more expensive than its predecessor, as per a new leak</a></b><b><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/webstories/best-smartphones-under-25000-in-india/slidelist/109529634.cms" target="_blank"></a></b><br /><br /> <b><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/webstories/best-smartphones-under-25000-in-india/slidelist/109529634.cms" target="_blank">Best smartphones under ₹25,000 in India</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sports/webstories/at-17-indian-chess-prodigy-d-gukesh-becomes-youngest-challenger-for-world-championship/slidelist/109492021.cms" target="_blank"></a></b><br /><br /> <b><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sports/webstories/at-17-indian-chess-prodigy-d-gukesh-becomes-youngest-challenger-for-world-championship/slidelist/109492021.cms" target="_blank">At 17, Indian chess prodigy D Gukesh becomes youngest challenger for World Championship</a></b>

India fourth largest military spender globally in 2023: SIPRI report

<strong><br /></strong><ul><li><strong>The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by <keyword id="3658" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>’s Defence Minister, <keyword id="129243" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nirmala-Sitharaman">Nirmala Sitharaman</keyword> approved a ₹46 billion contract for new military equipment.</strong></li><li><strong>In the accelerating <keyword id="6828657" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="asian-arms-race">Asian arms race</keyword>, India lags behind in both absolute and relative spending.<br /></strong></li><li><strong>Two-thirds of India’s military bill goes toward paying the infantry, leaving little left over for purchasing new weaponry.</strong></li></ul>India’s defence ministry has just <a href="http://pib.nic.in/newsite/pmreleases.aspx?mincode=33">approved the acquisition</a> of new military equipment in a ₹46 billion ($6.5 billion) deal. Their current war chest is quickly becoming obsolete, and this new contract ties in with the Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword>’s promise of spending ₹17 trillion ($250 billion) towards the modernisation of military technology.<br /><br />This tender is particularly significant because it’s the first time that the India government will be applying the technology from a foreign investor while building the equipment at home. <br /><br />
  
  
  <div type="image" title="Minimalist Branding Infographic" msid="65560326" hostid="261"></div>







<br />India isn’t alone its efforts to build up its arms. The annual defence spending in Asia, on average, has doubled over the century to nearly ₹31.5 trillion ($450 billion). <br /><br /><strong>Asian arms race<br /></strong>Many <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/2135802/asian-arms-race-stoked-chinas-booming-defence-budget-analysts">believe</a> it was China that instigated the arms race when in 2010 their military spending alone accounted for 28% of the military spending across Asia. In 2014, that ratio increased even further to 38%.<br /><br />As per the <a href="https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2018-04/sipri_fs_1805_milex_2017.pdf">Stockholm International Peace Research Institute</a>, the United States led the world with an arms spending of ₹42.7 trillion ($610 billion) while China came in second with ₹16 trillion ($228 billion). India was in 5th place with ₹4.5 trillion ($63.9 billion) as their military expenditure. <br /><br />While India’s spending is a fraction of what other countries are bailing out, it’s still up from ₹3 trillion ($47 billion) in 2012.<br /><br />More than absolute numbers, the proportional increases in budgets are more telling. In Asia, specifically, the largest increases in military spending were seen in Cambodia, Bangladesh, Indonesia and China. <br /><br />Aside from arms, China’s neighbouring nations are also more actively engaged in curating their strategic partnerships to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indo-japanese-relations-hedge-against-chinas-rise-with-their-first-ever-military-exercise/articleshow/65492296.cms">hedge against the risk</a> of the United States failing to contain the Chinese incursions into the South China Sea. <br /><br /><strong>Modernisation of India’s military<br /></strong>India’s military spending as forever been at the hub of controversy since the <keyword id="474078" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="bofors-scandal">Bofors scandal</keyword> in the 1980s. More recently, the deal for the acquisition of 36 Rafale jets off-the-shelf from France instead of 126 fighter jets that would partially be made in India has been in the limelight.<br /><br />Most experts argue that 36 jets are nowhere near enough for India’s requirements. An <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/902e056c-7756-11e2-b95a-00144feabdc0">ad-hoc</a> approach to India’s military strategy would do more harm than good in the long-run. <br /><br />In fact, one of the major issues with India’s military spending has been that more than two-thirds of the budget is allocated towards the salaries of people employed in the armed forces and their respective pensions. While infantry is important, its leaves too little for India to spend on weapons or its own research and development. <br /><br />That being said, the impetus from foreign investments being introduced into the defense sector should catalyse faster growth. <br /><br /><em>(Representative image)</em><br />

Arms spending in Asia continues as India shells out another ₹46 billion

If you think the world learnt its lesson post World War II and vowed not to exercise military prowess, you should read this. Nervousness has grown by leaps and bounds and all nations have been building up their militaries. So much so that as per a IHS Jane's latest annual Defense Budgets report, the next decade will see an increase in global defense spending amid rising feuds and pockets of instability.<br />
<br /> According to Craig Caffrey, principal analyst at the London-based defense and security analysis firm, <keyword id="3955669" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="global-defense-expenditures">global defense expenditures</keyword> rose to $1.57 trillion this year from $1.55 trillion in 2015 as Asian nations act on growing nervousness around the South China Sea.<br />
<br />
Fenella McGerty, an analyst at IHS Jane's, expects spending levels to return to pre-2008-2009 financial crisis levels by 2018. The breakdown region wise is:<br />
<br />
<strong><keyword id="21718" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Asia">Asia</keyword>, especially <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="India">India</keyword></strong><br /> China’s defense budget was $123 billion in 2010 and has nearly doubled since then. According to the report, it is expected to reach $233 billion in 2020 and it is four times what the U.K. spends and more than the combined expenditure of Western <keyword id="28249" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="europe">Europe</keyword>.<br />
<br />
India has overtaken Saudi Arabia and Russia to become the fourth-largest spender in the world. If the pound continues to weaken, India will spend more on defense than the U.K. by 2018, according to IHS Jane's.<br />
<br />
<strong>Europe</strong><br />
According to the report, European Union members boosted their combined budget to $219 billion in 2016, with Western Europe leading the charge. The only thing that has been holding them back are the economic constraints in the south and the problems related to Brexit.<br />
<br />
Russia, on the other hand, has been cutting budget since the late 1990s to $48 billion this year. “Despite a hit from the dramatic drop in oil prices, the Middle East as a whole is not expected to dramatically reduce expenditures considering regional instability,” Caffreytold Bloomberg<br />
<br />
<strong><keyword id="20819" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="America">America</keyword></strong><br />
US is still at the top, at $622 billion in 2016, with its budget accounting for about 40 percent of the global total, said the report.<br />
<br />
The Pentagon's "investment levels going forward were to decrease by 1.1 percent in real terms, but with the election of Trump, the expectation is that both investment and readiness will receive injections of much needed funds," said Guy Eastman, a senior analyst.<br />
<br />

This is how much India spends on its military and it is more than Russia

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>China Daily/via REUTERS</span></p><p class="caption">Paramilitary policemen take part in a summer training in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China, June 27, 2016.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Global military spending reached $1.739 trillion in 2017, up 1.1% from 2016, <a href="https://www.sipri.org/media/press-release/2018/global-military-spending-remains-high-17-trillion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to a report released on Wednesday from the <span>Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.</span></p><p><span>"Continuing high world military expenditure is a cause for serious concern," Ambassador Jan Eliasson, chair of the SIPRI governing board, said in the report. "It undermines the search for peaceful solutions to conflicts around the world."</span><span></span></p><p><span>China's military spending increased again in 2017, up 5.6% from 2016, SIPRI reported, as did India's, up 5.5% from 2016. </span></p><p><span>Russia's military spending decreased for the first time since 1998, down 20% from 2016, SIPRI reported. </span></p><p><span>"The increases in world military expenditure in recent years have been largely due to the substantial growth in spending by countries in Asia and Oceania and the Middle East, such as China, India and Saudi Arabia," Nan Tian, a SIPRI researcher, said in the report. "At the global level, the weight of military spending is clearly shifting away from the Euro-Atlantic region."</span></p><p><span> Although the US' budget remained unchanged, it "</span><span>spent more on its military than the next seven highest-spending countries combined," SIPRI reported. </span></p><p><span>Here are the 15 countries that spent the most on their militaries in 2017:</span></p>

The 15 countries with the highest military budgets in 2017

<br /><ul><li><strong>Earlier today, the Chinese government predicted that its economy would grow in the range of 6-6.5% in 2019, a decline over the 6.6% growth it posted in 2018.<br /></strong></li><li><strong>Concurrently, the Chinese government plans to hike defence spending by 7.5%.<br /></strong></li><li><strong>The spending hike will take China’s <keyword id="6359526" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="military">military</keyword> <keyword id="6358021" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="budget">budget</keyword> this year to 1.19 trillion yuan ($177.5 billion).</strong><br /></li></ul>Earlier today, the Chinese government predicted that its economy would grow in the range of <a href="https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/2188625/china-lowers-2019-gdp-growth-target-6-65-cent-range">6-6.5% </a>in 2019, a decline over the 6.6% growth it posted in 2018 which, incidentally, was the slowest GDP growth it recorded <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/20/economy/china-economy-q4/index.html">since 1990</a>. <br /><br />Concurrently, the Chinese government plans to hike defence spending by a higher rate - <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-parliament-defence/chinas-defense-budget-rise-to-outpace-economic-growth-target-idUSKCN1QM03Y">at 7.5%</a>. According to the Chinese government, this is a <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/03/china-defence-spending-increase-190304053554047.html">“reasonable and appropriate”</a> increase in light of national security interests and military reforms.<br /><br />While this is a slower rate than last year’s 8.1% hike, it still represents a considerable jump over growth and overall spending estimates. The spending hike will take China’s military budget this year to 1.19 trillion yuan ($177.5 billion).<br /><br />To put this number into perspective, <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>’s defence spending this year of <a href="https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/ub2019-20/bs/bs.pdf">₹3.18 trillion </a>($45 billion) - its highest outlay ever - is a mere quarter of this figure. <br /><br />In turn, China’s defence spending is a quarter of the US government’s planned outlay. The Trump administration has backed a defence budget of <a href="https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-trump-military/trump-backs-750-billion-defense-budget-request-to-congress-official-idINKBN1O906V">$750 billion</a> for 2019. <br /><br />China’s increased military spending this decade (2011-2015 had seen double-digit hikes in China’s defence budget) to bolster its <keyword id="42407" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Navy">navy</keyword> and air forces has irked its neighbours and countries in the West, especially as it has come along with expansionism in the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea.<br /><br />The country does not provide a breakdown on where its defence spending goes, which has further riled neighbours like Japan, who, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/India-is-beefing-up-its-navy-to-counter-Chinas-increasingly-powerful-fleet/articleshow/66978597.cms">like India</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/18/japan-beefs-up-defences-amid-concerns-over-chinas-military-might">boosted its own military budget</a> to counter China’s territorial incursions in Asian waters. <br /><br /><br />SEE ALSO:<br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/to-understand-why-chinas-looking-so-ugly-youve-got-to-look-at-what-happened-to-chinese-consumers/articleshow/67664373.cms">To understand why China's looking so ugly, you've got to look at what happened to Chinese consumers</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/India-is-beefing-up-its-navy-to-counter-Chinas-increasingly-powerful-fleet/articleshow/66978597.cms">India is beefing up its navy to counter China's increasingly powerful fleet</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india-overtakes-china-to-become-the-worlds-fastest-growing-economy-in-q1-2018/articleshow/65653486.cms">India overtakes China to become the world’s fastest growing economy in Q1 2018</a><br />

China ramps up military spending — and it’s now nearly four times India’s outlay

<p>Asymmetrical wars in Afghanistan, Vietnam, and now in Syria demonstrate all too clearly that relatively small numbers of belligerents can carry out successful military operations against superior forces.</p>
<p>But still, firepower is extremely important. <span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">A country's projection of power relies in large part upon its military capabilities. Successfully being able to project and wield that power is a key diplomatic asset.</span></p>
<p>The website <a href="http://www.globalfirepower.com/country-military-strength-detail.asp?country_id=united-states-of-america">Global Firepower</a> ranks the most powerful militaries in the world based on multiple factors, including available manpower, total labor force, and access to strategic assets. Nuclear capabilities are not included in the calculation.</p>
<p>Below are the 11 most powerful militaries in the world according to <a href="http://www.globalfirepower.com/countries-listing.asp">the 2014 rankings</a> (click country names to see military assets data).</p>
<h3>1. <a href="http://www.globalfirepower.com/country-military-strength-detail.asp?country_id=united-states-of-america">The United States</a></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>Stringer . / Reuters</span></p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p><span>The U.S. <keyword id="6354810" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Defense">defense</keyword> budget is $612 billion. </span>Despite sequestration and other spending cuts, the United States <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-defense-spending-by-country-2014-2">spends more money</a> on defense than the next ten highest spending countries combined.</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">America's biggest conventional military advantage is its fleet of</span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-defense-spending-by-country-2014-2"> 19 aircraft carriers</a><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">, compared to 12 carriers operated by the rest of the world combined. These massive carriers allow the U.S. to set up forward operating bases anywhere and project power throughout the world.</span></p>
<p>The super power also has by far the most aircraft of any country, cutting-edge technology like <span>the </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/navys-new-weapon-explained-in-5-gifs-2014-4">Navy's new rail gun</a>, a large and well-trained human force - and that's not even counting the world's largest nuclear arsenal.</p>
<h3>2. <a href="http://www.globalfirepower.com/country-military-strength-detail.asp?country_id=russia">Russia</a></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>Maxim Shemetov/REUTERS</span></p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p>Two decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia's military is growing again. The Kremlin's military spending has increased<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/27/us-russia-military-clout-idUSBREA1Q1YR20140227"> by almost a third</a> since 2008 and is expected to grow <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/02/12/275885249/global-military-spending-set-to-rise-in-2014">44% more</a> in the next three years. Today, the Russian defense budget stands at $76.6 billion.</p>
<p>Russia currently has 766,000 active frontline personnel with a reserve force of 2,485,000 personnel. These troops are backed up by 15,500 tanks, the largest tank force in the world. Russian soldiers generally receive relatively mediocre training, however, and their equipment, like that tank force, is aging.</p>
<h3>3. <a href="http://www.globalfirepower.com/country-military-strength-detail.asp?country_id=china">China</a></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>Reuters</span></p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p>China has embarked upon a relentless policy of massive military spending, with a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chinas-military-spending-at-the-double-2014-3">12.2% increase in spending</a> over the past year. China's defense budget stands at $126 billion but could unofficially be higher, prompting concern across Asia as China attempts to project its power to settle <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-japan-china-tensions-2014-4">border disputes with Japan</a> and the Philippines. </p>
<p>The size of the Chinese army is staggering, with 2,285,000 active frontline personnel with an additional 2,300,000 in the reserves. China also has a history of successfully stealing sensitive military technology, such as recently <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/stolen-f-35-technology-used-china-fighter-2014-3">acquiring sensitive information </a>about the new F-35.</p>
<h3>4. <a href="http://www.globalfirepower.com/country-military-strength-detail.asp?country_id=india">India</a></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Indian_Army_BMP-2.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p>India's defense spending is expected to rise as it pursues a modernization drive. <span>Currently, it is estimated that India only spends $46 billion on its budget, and it is slated to become the </span><a href="http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21574458-india-poised-become-one-four-largest-military-powers-world-end">fourth highest spender</a><span> by 2020. </span>It is already the world's <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/02/12/275885249/global-military-spending-set-to-rise-in-2014">largest importer</a> of military goods. </p>
<p>India has ballistic missiles with a range capable of hitting all of Pakistan or most of China. Indian military strategy has been dominated by its long-simmering conflict with Pakistan, although there have also been minor wars between China and India in the past.</p>
<h3>5. <a href="http://www.globalfirepower.com/country-military-strength-detail.asp?country_id=united-kingdom">The United Kingdom</a></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>Shamil Zhumatov/REUTERS</span></p><p class="caption">British Army Corporal Birendra Limbu of the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Gurkha Rifles, shows his rifle to Afghan children as he secures an area near an Afghan National Police (ANP) checkpoint outside the town of Lashkar Gah in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, July 13, 2011. </p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p>The U.K. is planning on <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-26271018">reducing the size</a> of its armed forces by 20% between 2010 and 2018, with smaller cuts to the Royal Navy and RAF. The defense budget stands at $54 billion.</p>
<p>Despite scaling back, the U.K. counts on being able to project its power around the world. The Royal Navy is planning on <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/industry/defence/10723462/HMS-Queen-Elizabeth-Britains-new-aircraft-carrier-in-detail.html">putting the HMS Queen Elizabeth</a>, an aircraft carrier that has a flight deck measuring at 4.5 acres, into service in 2020. The Queen Elizabeth is planned to carry 40 F-35B joint strike fighters around the world. <span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Thanks to superior training and equipment, </span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"></span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-britains-military-could-beat-china-2014-1">Britain could still hold an advantage</a><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"> over emerging powers like China, according to a leading think tank.</span></p>
<h3>6. <a href="http://www.globalfirepower.com/country-military-strength-detail.asp?country_id=france">France</a></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>Joe Penney / Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">French soldiers stand on a street during a patrol ahead of Sunday's presidential election in Timbuktu, July 25, 2013. </p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p>France <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/30/world/europe/grim-economics-shape-frances-military-spending.html">effectively froze</a> its military spending in 2013 while cutting 10% of its defense jobs in an effort to save money for purchasing high-tech equipment. The country spends <span> $43 billion a year on defense, which is</span> 1.9% of its GDP, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/27/world/europe/europe-begins-to-rethink-cuts.html">below the spending target</a> set by NATO for member countries.</p>
<p>Despite a leveling off of its military budget, France is still highly capable of projecting force around the globe, with <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/france-risks-long-stay-after-misjudging-central-african-republic-2014-2">significant deployments</a>  in the Central African Republic, Chad, Mali, Senegal and elsewhere around the world.</p>
<h3>7. <a href="http://www.globalfirepower.com/country-military-strength-detail.asp?country_id=germany">Germany</a></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>Fabian Bimmer/REUTERS</span></p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p>German military strength falls short of its economic strength on the world stage. Recently, Germany has started considering <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/30/us-ukraine-crisis-germany-nato-idUSBREA2T0BV20140330">offering military support</a> to eastern European NATO members. It has also considered a more active international role militarily. Germany spends $45 billion on its military annually, making it the eighth largest spender in the world.</p>
<p>Following the aftermath of World War II, the German population generally became anti-war. Although no laws limit the size of the German military, there is a general lack of interest in serving in the military. Germany only has 183,000 active frontline personnel with an additional 145,000 members in the reserves, and Germany eliminated mandatory service in 2011.</p>
<h3>8. <a href="http://www.globalfirepower.com/country-military-strength-detail.asp?country_id=turkey">Turkey</a></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>Umit Bektas/REUTERS</span></p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p>Turkish military spending is <a href="http://www.todayszaman.com/news-331941-turkeys-defense-spending-rises-as-lack-of-transparency-criticized.html">expected to rise 9.4%</a> in 2014 over the 2013 budget. The ongoing conflict in Syria and possible clashes with the Kurdish separatist organization, the PKK, were key reasons for the spending increase. Turkey's defense budget stands at $18.2 billion.</p>
<p>The NATO member has contributed soldiers to various initiatives around the world. The Turkish military took part in operations in Afghanistan, as well as in peacekeeping operations in the Balkans. Turkey also <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/photos-of-cyprus-frozen-in-time-border-2014-4">maintains a large military force</a> in Northern Cyprus.</p>
<h3>9. <a href="http://www.globalfirepower.com/country-military-strength-detail.asp?country_id=south-korea">South Korea</a></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>AP</span></p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p>South Korea has been <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/kyodo-news-international/140205/japan-china-s-korea-boosting-defense-spending-amid-ten">increasing its defense spending</a> due to both the increasing armament of Japan and China, and the constant threat from North Korea. South Korea spends $34 billion on defense.</p>
<p>South Korea has a relatively large military force for its small size. It has 640,000 active personnel with an additional 2,900,000 personnel in the reserves. South Korea also has 2,346 tanks and 1,393 aircraft. The South Korean military is <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/foal-eagle-south-korea-2014-4">generally well-trained</a> and routinely takes part in military exercise with the United States. South Korea's air force is also the sixth largest in the world.</p>
<h3>10. <a href="http://www.globalfirepower.com/country-military-strength-detail.asp?country_id=japan">Japan</a></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:JGSDF_22nd_Inf._official.jpg">US Army</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p>Japan increased its defense spending for the <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-29/japan-s-defense-spending-to-increase-for-first-time-in-11-years.html">first time in 11 years</a> in response to growing disputes with China. It has also started its first military expansion <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-japan-expands-army-footprint-for-first-time-in-40-years-risks-angering-china-2014-19">in over 40 years</a> by placing a new military base on its outer islands. Japan spends $49.1 billion on defense, the sixth most in the world.</p>
<p>Japan's military is fairly well-equipped. It currently has 247,000 active personnel with an additional 57,900 in reserve. Japan also has 1,595 aircraft, the world's fifth largest air force, and 131 ships. Japan's military is <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/24/us-japan-defense-constitution-idUSBREA2N0F020140324">limited by a peace clause</a> in the constitution that makes it illegal for the country to have an offensive army.</p>
<h3>11. <a href="http://www.globalfirepower.com/country-military-strength-detail.asp?country_id=israel">Israel</a></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Dome#cite_note-2">AP</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p>Israel spends significantly more than its neighbors proportionally for defense. In 2009, Israel <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/business/israel-shells-out-almost-a-fifth-of-national-budget-on-defense-figures-show.premium-1.503527">spent 18.7%</a> of its national budget on defense. Israel's defense budget stands at $15 billion.</p>
<p>A large percentage of the Israeli defense budget goes toward defense technology. One of the best examples of this is Israel's Iron Dome, a missile defense shield that can intercept rockets shot into Israel from the Palestinian territories. Israel aims to replace Iron Dome with a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/satish-cheney-israel-star-wars-laser-defense-2014-2">laser defense shield</a> called Iron Beam.</p>

The 11 Most Powerful Militaries In The World

<strong><br />Piyush Goyal: Defence budget at a record high at over ₹3 trillion for 2019-20 announced <br /><br /></strong>Industry experts point out that India’s defence budget 2018 compares with the top five in the world. <br /><br />In fact, it overtook that of UK’s for the first time in history, says a report by a global think-tank based in London. These studies mark a major change in the military priorities of the country and a major shift in the military balance between the two countries under citation. <br /><br />In 2017, India overtook the UK and became the fifth largest spender on defence in the world by allotting $52.5 billions, which was up from the $51.1 billion allotted in the budget 2016. These figures are brought out for a comparative study by the Military Balance Sheet 2018 report released by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).<br /><br />Presenting a sharp contrast, the UK’s defence budget showed a fall from $52.5 billion in 2016 to $50.7 billion in 2017. <br /><br />Commenting about the trend noticed with regard to the defence budgets of India and UK, IISS Senior Fellow for South Asia, Rahul Roy-Chaudhury says, "This represents a key shift in the military balance between India and the UK, with India allocating more capabilities to develop its regional resources than the UK in a global context."<br /><br />The report also notes that while India is seen investing a great deal to modernize its military capabilities and infrastructure, China, the globe’s second largest defence budget following the US is seen far ahead of the march allotting three times more resources to its military augmentation at $150.5 billion. <br /><br />The real spending of China on its defence capabilities shows a phenomenal increase of 25% percent in 2016-17 while that of India increased only by 2.4%<br /><br />Roy-Chaudhury notes, "Post-Dokalam, India's military balance with China continues to be significantly in China's favor. Since 2000, China has built more submarines, destroyers, frigates and corvettes than Japan, South Korea and India combined. China will continue to dominate the region militarily and seek to challenge the US in the region as well.”<br /><br />Analysts say that the Chinese army has recruited more than 600,000 personnel than that of India. <br /><br />The Chinese air force has about 1,200 tactical air crafts to compare with just 785 reported to be part of the Indian air force. China has 55 more frigates, cruisers and destroyers than India. <br /><br />IISS says, "The overall capability of the (Indian) army is limited by inadequate logistics, and shortages of ammunition and spare parts. Development and procurement programs across the services are aimed at replacing ageing equipment, but many projects have experienced significant delays and cost overruns, particularly indigenous systems.”<br /><br />To sum up, the report has found that China and Russia with their fourth largest <keyword id="107484" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="defense-budget">defense budget</keyword> of the world at $61.2 billion seem to challenge the US’s military supremacy. Hence the US and its allies can no longer depend on the strategic advantage they have been enjoying so far. <br /><br />Saudi Arabia’s defence budget is at an annual spending of $76.7 billion, which becomes the third topmost spending in the whole world. <br /><br />So, to position India’s defence spending among the world’s topmost defence budgets, we can line up the countries in the fashion: US, China, Saudi Arabia, Russia and India.<br />

India Defence budget at a record high at over ₹3 trillion for 2019-20 announced

<br /><ul><li><strong>Four strategic studies are being carried out by the government to pinpoint ways to optimise the size of the <keyword id="6359526" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="military">military</keyword> forces.<br /></strong></li><li><strong>As part of the restructuring of the <keyword id="15350" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Army">army</keyword>, overlapping divisions will be cut down while a host of new positions will be created.<br /></strong></li><li><strong>In August last year, the government approved the <keyword id="6473198" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="reform">reform</keyword> programme - which involves the redeployment of 57,000 officers, merger of garrisons and the shutdown of redundant military support units and farms. <br /></strong></li><li><strong>Personnel costs are a significant drain on the army’s operating budget, accounting for 63% of costs while the modernisation of equipment accounts for only 14%.</strong></li></ul>At the end of last month, the Indian government continued work on one of the largest reform programmes of its <keyword id="32723" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Defence">defence</keyword> forces in its history as a independent country. <br /><br />In fact, four separate assessments - which were given by a greenlight by <a href="http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=184039">the Army Commanders’ Conference</a> in the second week of October - are being carried out by the government to pinpoint ways to “right-size” its military, with reforms being implemented gradually over the next couple of years. <br /><br />The individual studies will each focus on separate issues — reducing the size and organisational structure of the Army Headquarters and optimising the number of junior commissioned officers and other ranks of officers. <br /><br />As part of the restructuring of the army, overlapping divisions will be cut down while a host of new positions will be created, according to <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/army-set-to-create-new-positions-as-part-of-overhaul/article25326814.ece">a Hindu report</a> citing sources. These include a new Deputy Chief of Army Staff, in addition to two existing deputy chiefs that handle planning and intelligence systems, and a new Director for Strategic Communications, which will report the third Deputy Chief. <br /><br />The goal is to increase the army’s teeth-to-tail ratio, which refers to the amount of combat-ready soldiers that can be supported by one military support officer. <br /><br />The government approved the reform exercise <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/57-000-army-personnel-to-be-redeployed-to-increase-tooth-to-tail-ratio-117083001383_1.html">in August last year. </a> At the time, it was reported that 57,000 junior officers would be redeployed to functions where their skill sets were better suited. In addition to this, the reform exercise involves the merger of military units and the closure of redundant logistics units like signal operators as well as the military farm service and postal departments. <br /><br />Military farms, which were established during colonial times, are tasked with supplying milk to military units across the country. Once all 39 military farms are shut, the land will be given back to the defence ministry, which will then re-allocate them to military units. <br /><br />The reform exercise is part of a larger plan to optimise defence <keyword id="31669" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="spending">spending</keyword> by redirecting it from personnel expenses to equipment procurement. This has been evident in the slew of big-ticket military deals closed this year so far. <br /><br />In May this year, it was reported that India had broken into the ranks of the world’s <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-01/china-tensions-push-india-into-world-s-top-five-defense-spenders">top five countries by military expenditure</a>, overtaking France. The country’s defence costs rose by nearly 6% to $63.9 billion in 2017 owing to higher salaries and pensions for army personnel and weapon imports.<br /><br />Personnel costs are a significant drain on the army’s operating budget, accounting for <a href="http://164.100.47.193/lsscommittee/Defence/16_Defence_42.pdf">63%</a> of costs while the modernisation of equipment accounts for only 14%. This is why the reorganisation and “right-sizing” of the military forces has become an urgent priority. <br /><br />Separately, in recognition of the high cost of importing weapons, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also encouraged the domestic production of military equipment under the “Make in India” programme. However, the foreign investment in the defence industry <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2018/03/28/india-spends-a-fortune-on-defence-and-gets-poor-value-for-money">has been meagre</a> in recent years. <br />

India is 'right-sizing' its military as part of a plan to make defence spending more efficient

<br />Acting Finance Minister <keyword id="6355222" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="piyush-goyal">Piyush Goyal</keyword> announced in Parliament today that the government would ramp up <keyword id="32723" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Defence">defence</keyword> spending to over ₹3 trillion in 2019-2020 - the highest ever <keyword id="6358021" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="budget">budget</keyword>ary allocation to defence. This is a marginal increase from the allocation of ₹2.95 trillion in last year’s budget.<br /><br />
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<br />The higher spending comes as India prepares for incursions by its neighbour <keyword id="1334" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="China">China</keyword> in the <keyword id="12350" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Ocean">Indian Ocean</keyword>. China’s expanding military presence across the rest of Asia, primarily through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), has been watched closely India and its Western allies. <br /><br />China has made significant inroads into most of India’s immediate neighbours- Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Maldives and most importantly, Pakistan, through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (which also runs through Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir), thereby forming a strategic military circle around India, commonly referred to as the “String of Pearls.”<br /><br />In December 2018, India was reported to be <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/India-is-beefing-up-its-navy-to-counter-Chinas-increasingly-powerful-fleet/articleshow/66978597.cms">increasing the size of its navy</a> in order to counter China’s fleet. <br />

The Indian government just announced its highest ever outlay for defence

<p>Since the end of the Cold War, the US has been the world's unquestioned dominant military power.</p><p>Although <keyword id="6354810" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Defense">defense</keyword> spending has been shrinking since its high in 2010, the US' budget in 2014 still <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/us-military-spending-chart-2014-4">surpassed</a> the combined<span> expenditures of China, Saudi Arabia, Russia, the UK, Franch, Germany, Japan, India, and South Korea.</span></p><p><span>The military budget of China, the world's second-largest military spender, was still only 22% of the US's in 2014.</span></p><p><span>This enormous budget allows the US to field the most cutting-edge hardware while investing in future technologies. The following graphic from the <a href="http://online.utep.edu/resources/webinars-and-infographics/current-future-defense-capabilities-of-the-u-s/">University of Texas at El Paso Connect</a> highlights some of the US's defense capabilities - and the massive price tag that comes along with them.</span></p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://online.utep.edu/resources/webinars-and-infographics/current-future-defense-capabilities-of-the-u-s/">UTEP Connect/The University Of Texas At El Paso</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/us-military-spending-billions-2015-7">How the US military spends its billions</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="9kdmNndjo8M7QNeyl5Jgy5yfYCzEf-HI" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

This chart shows the US's astonishing defense capabilities - along with their massive price tag

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The world is racked with conflict these days: The war in Syria is in its fourth year; a recent and much-touted ceasefire in Ukraine ended almost as soon as it began. And there are plenty of ambitious emerging countries that are sprinting to raise their military status: China, India, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are in the midst of military modernizations. Just this week, India approved <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-india-clears-8-billion-warships-project-to-counter-chinese-navy-2015-2">$8 billion in spending on a new submarine fleet.</a></span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">But as a new report from the consulting firm Deloitte demonstrates, this doesn't translate to better times for the global <keyword id="6354810" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Defense">defense</keyword> industry as a whole. Just the opposite, in fact. According to the firm's <a href="http://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/Manufacturing/gx-mnfg-2015-global-a-and-d-outlook.pdf">global aerospace and defense industry outlook</a> for 2015, revenues for defense companies are expected to decline 1.3% in 2014, after 1.3 and 0.9% declines in 2012 and 2013, respectively.</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">As this chart demonstrates, the global defense industry has seen its revenues dip by $30 billion since 2010:</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><br /></span></p><p>It would be tempting to attribute this to a new era of global peace and declining conflict. Instead, the dip in revenue owes almost entirely to new US spending controls implemented in 2013 - the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/sequestration">ongoing budgetary sequester</a>. And it's because of the end of two US military operations in particular: "<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Overall global defense spending is declining," the report states, "resulting </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">mainly from reduced armed conflict in Iraq and </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Afghanistan."</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Of course, war is ongoing in two countries - the US just isn't as involved anymore.</span></p><p>The Deloitte report offers plenty of reasons for defense contractors to believe that these revenues aren't about to come back. As it explains, cost overruns in big-ticket defense programs have made politicians and the US public wary of committing to major projects (the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/f-35-lightning-ii">notoriously expensive F-35</a> may well have something to do with this).</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>At the same time, in the absence of a major American ground operation, the US is trending towards preventative capabilities - surveillance, intelligence, and unmanned technologies that are cheaper to produce and maintain than tanks, armored personnel carriers, or other, more traditional hardware.</p><p>As the report concludes, "<span>there is a </span><span>need to continue improvements to recognize, encounter, </span><span>and contain aggression in a manner that increasingly </span><span>keeps the war fighter out of harm's way." In other ways, American military policy is changing in ways that are forcing the defense industry to permanently adapt.</span></p><p>There are plenty of countries that are increasing spending. China is <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-military-advancements-2014-10">building everything from anti-ship missiles to stealth fighters</a>; India and Russia are <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/india-is-bankrolling-russias-t-50-2014-6">cooperating on a fifth-generation war plane</a>, and Russia may be in the very early stages of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-claims-its-developing-massive-aircraft-carrier-2015-2">building a new aircraft carrier</a>.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Deloitte " title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54e4eb9f6bb3f7f1415edc0d-960/screen shot 2015-02-18 at 12.59.52 pm.png"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/Manufacturing/gx-mnfg-2015-global-a-and-d-outlook.pdf">Deloitte </a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div>But the <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">US's share of global defense spending is so large that a relatively stagnant Pentagon budget is enough to bring down the global industry as a whole. The US accounts for nearly 40% of worldwide defense spending nearly as much as the next 15 countries combined:</span></p><p>So the US is still such a dominant military power that even small changes in its policy can shift the entire defense industry.</p><p>But less encouragingly, the state of the defense industry isn't any kind of indicator of whether war and militarization are on the downswing.</p><h3><a href="http://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/Manufacturing/gx-mnfg-2015-global-a-and-d-outlook.pdf">Read the whole thing here.</a></h3>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/taiwan-navy-stealth-missile-warship-corvette-2014-12">The Taiwan Navy Just Unveiled A Stealth Missile Warship Dubbed The 'Carrier-Killer'</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="VzZTRncjpwgLe6_-fMu3OhMAZehw4Hn_" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

The US is pretty much the sole reason global defense spending is falling

<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:480px"><div class="image"><p class="source">REUTERS</p></div></div><keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> launched a new indigenous carrier today, marking the steady increase in Asia's burgeoning arms race, <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/india-unveils-home-built-aircraft-carrier">reports the</a> Associated Press.</p>
<p>The INS Vikrant displaces 40,000 tons of water, has a length of 262 meters, a max breadth of 62  meters, two runways, and significantly extends India's reach into the Pacific.</p>
<p>"India's first self-made carrier, along with reinforced naval strength, will further disrupt the <keyword id="6359526" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Military">military</keyword> balance in South Asia," <span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Senior Captain Zhang Junshe, Vice-President of <keyword id="1334" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="China">China</keyword>'s Naval Research Institute <a href="http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/NAT-TOP-ins-vikrant-enables-india-to-wade-into-chinas-backyard-makes-dragon-nervous-4346225-NOR.html">told state-run</a> CCTV today.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">India has one other operational carrier that it bought from Russia and refurbished, the <span>INS Viraat. It also plans to have another indigenously built carrier, the INS <span>Vikramaditya, built and operational by the end of the year.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><span><span><div class="image-container float_left" style="width:480px"><div class="image"><p class="source">REUTERS</p></div></div>The ships not only put India in an elite group of countries capable of building their own carriers — U.S., Russia, France and Britain (possibly <keyword id="6355311" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Japan">Japan</keyword>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/japans-giant-new-destroyer-sends-a-clear-message-to-china-the-world-2013-8">depending on what they</a> decide to call their new flat-top ships) — but signal signal of a larger arms race occurring in Asia.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><span>Asia's <a href="http://news.investors.com/business/062513-661310-asia-defense-spending-to-top-us-military-budget-by-2021.htm">defense spending is set to top</a> North America's by 2020, <a href="http://www.dw.de/the-new-arms-race-in-asia/a-16681158">and has already topped</a> Europe's as of last  year.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><span>Just last week Japan unveiled what it called a "destroyer," <a href="http://www.ottawasun.com/2013/08/10/china-wary-of-japans-new-aircraft-carrier">but what officials called</a> a "carrier in disguise." </span></span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">The name of the ship is the "Izumo," the </span><a href="http://www.ottawasun.com/2013/08/10/china-wary-of-japans-new-aircraft-carrier">same name of the heavy cruiser</a><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"> which kicked off the invasion of China in July 7, 1937.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><span><span><span>Furthermore, the region has seen overall increases in military spending from China and Japan, while the Europe and North American regions have seen recent decreases — this at a time when President Barack Obama pushes his big "Pacific pivot."</span></span></span></span></p>

India's New Carrier Joins The Big Asian Arms Race

<p>The US is the world's undisputed leader in terms of military strength.</p><p>That is according to a ranking published in a Credit Suisse report on globalization.</p><p>Russia ranks second, narrowly ahead of China. Japan and India round out the top five. Canada ranks 20.</p><p>The report said: </p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">"Our analysis reveals the military superiority of the United States in conventional war capabilities compared to its close rivals. Its fleet of 13,900 aircraft, 920 attack helicopters, 20 aircraft carriers and 72 submarines far outweighs the military might of any of its close rivals and so does its <keyword id="6354810" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Defense">defense</keyword> spending worth USD 610 bn in 2014, which is far more than the combined military expenditures of the next nine countries in our index.</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">"In reality, in today's nuclear era, conventional forces are not the only indicator of military strength. Russia and the United States account for more than 90% of global inventories of nuclear weapons according to data provided by Stockholm <keyword id="6356001" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="international">International</keyword> Peace Research Institute's (SIPRI) Yearbook 2015."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Credit Suisse</span></p><p class="caption">Military Strength Indicator</p></div><p></p></div></div></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/most-extravagant-vacations-in-world-2015-9">The most expensive and extravagant vacations in the world</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="tvMzRndzpNrgBqxHb0FavvEnwVT1v50q" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

You Searched For "India military spending" and got 14 results

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