Geopolitic / North America
Geopolitical developments, escalation signals, and diplomatic moves. Topic: North-America. Updated briefs and structured summaries from curated sources.
Defence spending trends | The Military Balance 2026
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Global defence spending growth in 2025 slowed to 2.5% in real terms, a significant drop from the 7-8% growth seen in the previous two years. European defence spending is projected to increase by around 9% in real terms, driven largely by military investments in Germany.
- Global defence spending growth in 2025 slowed to 2.5% in real terms. This is a significant drop from the 7-8% growth seen in the previous two years
- The decrease in growth is attributed to a lower US defence budget. High military aid for Ukraine in 2024 skewed overall trends
- In contrast, the US budget is expected to increase significantly next year. This will likely strengthen global defence spending growth
- Russian defence spending also experienced a slowdown due to fiscal difficulties. This made it challenging to maintain previous spending levels
- European defence spending is on the rise, with projections indicating an increase of around 9% in real terms. This growth is largely driven by military investments in Germany
- Countries like the UK and France are contributing to the structural shift in European defence spending. This is occurring despite their fiscal constraints