A Forecast International blog about the arms trade, geopolitics, defense and security, and military spending.
During the first quarter of 2026, the U.S. government approved over $45 billion in potential Foreign Military Sales (FMS) with the overwhelming majority supporting Middle Eastern allies. Of total global …
War Dividends: Potential U.S. Arms Sales to the Middle East Surge in Q1 2026 Read More
The longest government shutdown in history has finally ended, but what does that mean for the Pentagon’s FY26 budget? It took well over a month for lawmakers to resolve the …
After the Shutdown: What Comes Next for the Pentagon’s FY26 Budget? Read More
How Trade Policies Are Reshaping the Global Defense Landscape For over 50 years, Forecast International has provided trusted insight and intelligence to the global aerospace and defense sectors. Today, as …
Navigating Defense Amid Rising Protectionism and Global Uncertainty Read More
Canada plans to meet NATO’s goal of spending two percent of GDP on defense this year, seven years earlier than planned, Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a speech Monday. …
Canada Plans to Hit NATO Defense Spending Target Early, Shift Focus from U.S. Read More
On Monday, June 2, the British government released a new Strategic Defence Review (SDR), the first such review implemented by a Labor government since 1998. It arrives at a time …
Transformative or Mirage? Examining the U.K. Strategic Defense Review Read More
The White House made headlines recently by declaring its FY26 defense budget request would break the trillion-dollar mark, but the president’s claims don’t quite hold up to scrutiny. While the …
A Trillion-Dollar Defense Budget That Isn’t Read More
The global defense landscape is evolving, and NATO is at a pivotal moment. With discussions intensifying around raising the defense spending benchmark from 2% to 5% of GDP, this potential …
Beyond 2%: NATO’s Defense Budget Shift – Webcast Read More
The likely next chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, announced on Friday, March 14, that he had secured enough votes to enable a massive new expenditure plan aimed at infrastructure and …
Germany’s Landmark Spending Deal Gets Approved – Now Comes the Lift Read More
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer made a surprise announcement to the House of Commons on February 25, outlining plans to increase the British defense budget to 2.5 percent per year …
Keir Starmer’s U.K. Defense Spending Pledge Comes with Asterisks Read More
The FY25 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), signed into law in December, sidestepped calls from some lawmakers for the policy bill to increase the Pentagon’s topline budget, but the legislation …
Key Takeaways from the FY25 National Defense Authorization Act Read More