Asia outstrips Europe in defence spending
Defence spending in Asia is expected to overtake that in Europe at some point this year, according to London-headquartered International Institute for Strategic Studies.
John Chipman, director-general of IISS, said on 7 March that the change reflected both continued austerity measures in Europe and sustained economic growth in Asia, which also continues to have a number of conflict flash points.
Some 80% of Asian defence spending is accounted for by five countries: Australia, China, India, Japan and South Korea. China alone accounts for some 30% of defence spending in the region although its spending remains far below that of the
Our news & analysis is now part of Defence Insight®
A Basic-level or higher Defence Insight subscription is now required to view this content.
More from Naval Warfare
-
![Funding for the future US Navy Trump-class battleship sparks controversy in Congress]()
Funding for the future US Navy Trump-class battleship sparks controversy in Congress
Lawmakers question the US Navy’s proposed $2 billion investment in the Trump-class battleship as concerns over cost, technology maturity and operational relevance fuel growing bipartisan scrutiny on Capitol Hill.
-
![Germany sinks F126 frigate programme in favour of cheaper MEKO A-200]()
Germany sinks F126 frigate programme in favour of cheaper MEKO A-200
On 24 June 2026, the German Ministry of Defence announced it was cancelling the F126 frigate programme in favour of procuring eight MEKO A-200 DEU frigates.
-
![UK’s Type 31 frigate balances cost pressure with long-term export ambition]()
UK’s Type 31 frigate balances cost pressure with long-term export ambition
The UK shipbuilder’s full-year results to the end of March revealed the impact of the £140 million charge linked to design changes and rework on the Royal Navy’s Type 31 frigate programme.
-
![US Navy expands non-standard acquisitions to rapidly field emerging technologies]()
US Navy expands non-standard acquisitions to rapidly field emerging technologies
The US Navy is increasing the use of OTA obligations to accelerate the procurement of seabed-subsea, littoral, expeditionary and uncrewed solutions.
-
![Can Portugal solve NATO’s uncrewed systems development challenge?]()
Can Portugal solve NATO’s uncrewed systems development challenge?
NATO has spent more than a decade building one of the world’s most sophisticated maritime uncrewed experimentation ecosystems, but still lacks a way to translate this testing into alliance-wide operational capability. Portugal now believes it has the answer.
