“Turbulence in international relations”: what could be the reason for the record increase in world military spending

In 2019, total military spending of all countries of the world amounted to $ 1.917 trillion. This is reported by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). This is 2.2% of global GDP.

“In 2019, world military spending increased by 7.2% compared to 2010, demonstrating a trend of accelerating growth in military spending in recent years,” says NIP Tian, ​​SIPRI weapons and military spending program researcher.

It is noted that military spending in the world over the past year increased by 3.6% compared with 2018 - this is a record figure since 2010.

Institute staff also point out that the global increase in defense spending is largely due to an increase in US military spending, which ranked first in this indicator. In 2019, the United States defense spending rose 5.3% to $ 732 billion.

Russia ranked fourth in the world in terms of military spending in 2019 - $ 65.1 billion (an increase of 4.5%). Recall that the military spending of the Russian Federation decreased in 2017-2018, and the defense budget in the year before last amounted to $ 61.4 billion. 

China and India rank second and third respectively. Last year, China spent $ 261 billion on military needs, 5.1% more than in 2018. India - $ 71.1 billion, up 6.8% from the previous year.

Saudi Arabia closes the top five in military spending with $ 61.9 billion, compared with 2018, the country reduced spending by 16%.

As a corresponding member of the Academy of Military Sciences, political scientist Sergei Sudakov, the global increase in spending on military needs is due to several factors. In particular, a number of countries have an increasing need to develop new types of weapons, primarily hypersonic.

“Among such states are the USA, China and Russia. To produce this type of weapon, you need to bear serious costs. Large amounts of money are also spent on the creation or modernization of the icebreaker fleet, the formation of a satellite constellation, ”the expert said in a conversation with RT.

But there are also states with “mostly direct costs,” Sudakov points out.

“For example, Saudi Arabia for the most part spends money on the purchase of weapons from the United States. An intermediate position is taken by India, which buys and produces weapons, ”the analyst said.

“Make up for lost time”

According to experts, a significant part of the US defense budget is spent on maintaining American military bases around the world, as well as on conducting military operations abroad.

“As long as the United States exists, they fight so much. Now it is mainly the countries of the Middle East - Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. In addition, a huge amount of resources is spent on blocking Iran and supplying its military bases with weapons. However, these investments do not pay off, do not make ordinary Americans richer. Enormous money is spent, first of all, on maintaining the American image of exclusivity and superiority in the world, ”Sergey Sudakov explained.

According to the expert, the United States is also investing significant funds in the development of new weapons, in particular, hypersonic weapons, since they "are lagging behind Russia in this direction and are trying to catch up." The United States itself has stated this more than once.

So, in January 2020, General John Hayten, deputy head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces, said that the American side needed to accelerate the development of hypersonic weapons, but this has not yet been achieved. He also recalled that Washington had spent many years developing two past programs, HTV-1 and HTV-2, which failed.

There are similar problems in the space industry, which the White House is actively modernizing. As General Space Secretary of the United States General John Raymond noted in April, the United States is losing supremacy over other countries in space. According to him, it is necessary to change the approach to the procurement of military developments in order to quickly take them into service.

Analysts also point to the "exorbitant high cost" of a number of American advanced developments. In particular, the cost of the development program of the American fighter-bomber F-35 reached $ 1.3 trillion. However, in March, the US Audit Office announced serious problems in the ALIS system, which helps to diagnose and ensure the performance of the F-35. In a report to Congress, the text of which was reviewed by RT, the agency called on the Pentagon to modernize the complex. 

“We see how recently the head of the White House, Donald Trump, is worried about the fact that in the US many types of weapons are far behind foreign analogues, including Russian ones. This is due not only to hypersound. We know that Trump is dissatisfied with the state of the US nuclear triad, wants its speedy modernization. A huge amount of budget money has been allocated to upgrade nuclear capabilities. However, the creation of innovative projects in the USA, as we know, very often does not end with something truly unique, ”Nikita Danyuk, deputy director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts of the RUDN University, said in an interview with RT.

In second place in military spending is China. According to Sergei Sudakov, this country is actively developing promising types of weapons, including hypersonic missiles, while at the same time relying on the modernization of existing models of military equipment. Beijing also buys foreign weapons, including from Russia. 

• Parade of Chinese military vehicles during the Vostok-2018 exercises at the Tsugol training ground in the Trans-Baikal Territory
• © Mladen ANTONOV / AFP

India occupies the third position in the global ranking due to the import of weapons, as well as the production of its own models of military equipment, analysts say. 

Recall, on January 20, the first squadron of Russian Su-30MKI fighters armed with the aviation version of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, which are a Russian-Indian product, was commissioned by the Indian armed forces. At first, only Russia produced Su-30MKI aircraft, and in 2000, the original license for their creation was obtained by the cooperation of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).

“In addition to Russia, India is actively cooperating in the military sphere with the United States. Thus, the Indian side is trying to maintain a balance between Moscow and Washington, ”Sudakov emphasized. 

Sudakov noted that Russia, in contrast to the expansionist model of the United States, in its defense policy is guided by the "principle of sufficiency and the maximum desire to effectively implement defense means."

“The Russian Federation is not trying to compete with anyone now and totally increase its military budget and join the arms race. The Russian Federation has sufficient military potential to protect itself and its partners. In addition, Russia creates weapons that are more efficient and cheaper than the US. First of all, this applies to hypersonic weapons and tank equipment, ”the expert explained.

Sudakov also drew attention to the fact that, unlike the United States, the Russian Federation “spends funds from the defense budget” on the design and manufacture of weapons at state-owned enterprises, which significantly reduces spending.

“While the United States is collaborating with private companies that only require a lot of money to develop and provide concepts. Moreover, lobbying structures are actively working there, which compete with each other and, in fact, pull over a part of the budget, ”the analyst said.

According to Nikita Danyuk, the fact that Saudi Arabia continues to be one of the five countries in terms of defense spending is determined by the desire to "claim to be a leader in the Islamic world."

“Saudi Arabia wants to be the first in the Middle East region. And being an extremely close ally of the United States, it replenishes its stockpiles of weapons with American military products, ”the expert said.

“The world is becoming unstable”

According to analysts, the trend of increasing defense spending in the world will only "gain momentum."

“We will observe how from year to year the military budgets of the countries of the world will continue to grow, despite the financial economic crisis that erupted as a result of the pandemic. Many countries are not ready to give up their military spending. Indeed, strong defense potential in the modern world is one of the keys to the sovereignty of the state, its authority in the international arena, ”said Nikita Danyuk.

According to him, "the importance of military force and power in the world will increase." This is partly due to the United States withdrawing from the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF Treaty).

“Now the Americans will be actively engaged in the modernization and, in general, the creation of intermediate and shorter-range missiles. In addition, there is a high probability that they will not go to the extension of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START III). And then nuclear strategic weapons and their carriers will receive a new impetus for modernization, ”Danyuk predicted.

He also noted that the United States "it is important to destroy the regulatory framework", which restrained the arms race and did not allow "openly engaged in dangerous developments."

“And the more often the United States withdraws from all kinds of non-proliferation treaties, the more budgets will increase. The more military developments we will see around the world, ”said Danyuk.

• Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Launch
• © US Air Force / REUTERS

Sergei Sudakov, in turn, said that the US military budget is precisely focused on this.

“The United States will upgrade Tomahawk cruise missiles. Their ground version was previously banned by the INF Treaty, but now Washington has free hands on this issue. In addition, serious work will begin as part of a program to modernize nuclear forces. Washington wants to reduce the weight of the rocket and increase the mass of the warhead, ”the expert explained.

Recall that the US military budget in 2020 will be a record $ 738 billion. According to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, "this is comparable to the total annual military budget of all countries of the world and exceeds the Russian one by 16 times."

According to Daniuk, in many ways it is the actions of the United States that contribute to the fact that "the world is becoming more and more unstable."

"Existingturbulence in international relations cannot guarantee security in the short term. In these conditions, countries understand that it is possible to defend national interests (geopolitical and geo-economic) only if there is a powerful army, a powerful military-industrial complex and defense potential, ”the analyst concluded.