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Sniffer planes, anyone? The tough calls militaries face in planning for future wars
Rapid technological changes heighten the difficulties of deciding where to place huge bets in defence spending.
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US President Donald Trump promises America’s first US$1 trillion (S$1.28 trillion) annual budget by 2026, a 12 per cent increase on current spending levels.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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The trend is unmistakable: whether it’s in the US, Europe, Russia, China or elsewhere throughout the Indo-Pacific region, spending on the military is going up.
US President Donald Trump promises America’s first US$1 trillion (S$1.28 trillion) annual budget by 2026, a 12 per cent increase on current spending levels. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen talks of €850 billion (S$1.24 trillion) in total extra spending – on top of existing defence budgets – for acquiring European weapons over the coming decade. One needs to have access to highly classified intelligence material to know precisely how much Russia or China spends on the military, but the trajectory is clearly upwards.
