A Forecast International blog about the arms trade, geopolitics, defense and security, and military spending.
Japan’s abrupt decision to suspend deployment of U.S.-produced AEGIS Ashore missile defense systems amid cost and technical concerns came as a bit of a surprise. Announced by Defense Minister Taro …
Read More
Germany’s Defense Ministry has put a halt to an ongoing midlife upgrade (MLU) of its fleet of Lockheed Martin P‑3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) as it shifts to examining …
Read More
The South Korean government plans to trim around KRW300 billion ($245 million) from the country’s 2020 defense allocation in order to bolster its economic relief effort in light of the …
Read More
China has announced a defense budget for 2020 that will result in a year-on-year nominal increase of 6.6 percent, the lowest such figure since the first half of the 1990s. …
Read More
India intends to forgo a planned acquisition of 114 foreign-sourced combat aircraft in favor of more indigenous Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCAs). The move comes a little over two years …
Read More
Barely two weeks after an announcement that government-to-government Foreign Military Sales (FMS) requests by the Philippines to Washington for potential buys of U.S.-sourced attack helicopters had been cleared by the …
Read More
The Hellenic Ministry of Defense plans to lease several Heron medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) drones from Israel for use in maritime reconnaissance and surveillance missions. The lease of three Israel Aircraft …
Read More
The Philippines is looking to procure American-produced attack helicopters through the U.S. government-to-government Foreign Military Sales (FMS) channel, and on April 30 the State Department sent official notice of clearance …
Read More
Back on April 14, the International Monetary Fund announced the expected when it noted that the global economy is in a tailspin as entire economies are brought to a standstill …
Read More
Thailand becomes the latest defense spending domino to fall in Asia as governments look to shift funding priorities toward novel coronavirus (COVID-19) economic and civil relief packages. With Thailand’s economy …
Read More