March 26, 2024 | International, Land
March 19, 2024 | International, Land
EU closer to buying arms for Ukraine with frozen Russian asset profits
The 27-nation bloc is holding about €200 billion (U.S. $218 billion) in Russian central bank assets, most of it frozen in Belgium.
On the same subject
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December 17, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
Sweden ups defense budget 40% due to regional tensions
By: The Associated Press STOCKHOLM — Sweden's parliament on Tuesday approved a 40 percent increase in the defense budget for 2021-2025 because of tensions in the Baltic Sea region in recent years, with officials saying Russia is the main reason for the move. The 349-member Riksdag assembly approved the largest hike in 70 years, bringing the annual defense budget by 2025 to 89 billion kronor (U.S. $11 billion). Defence Minister Peter Hultquist told the assembly before the series of votes that “it is the largest investment since the 1950s.” The proposal was put forward in October by Sweden's two-party Social Democrat-Green Party minority government, and it received immediate backing from two smaller opposition groups. The government described it as sending a signal after Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, repeated airspace violations by Russian military aircraft in the neighboring Baltics and a military buildup in Russia's exclave of Kaliningrad, which sits across the Baltic Sea from Sweden. “There is much to suggest that Russia's military capabilities in absolute terms will increase throughout the next 10-year period,” the adopted proposal read. The plan will see the armed forces grow from the current 55,000 positions to 90,000 by 2030. Several disbanded regiments will be reestablished and the number of conscripts will increase to 8,000 annually, which is a doubling compared with 2019. The Navy will receive new equipment and there will be upgrades in armament. Sweden currently spends 1.1 percent of gross domestic product on defense. Guidelines issued by NATO, of which Sweden isn't a member, advise that members spend 2 percent, although many do not achieve that target. In December 2017, Sweden decided to establish the nation's first new military regiment since World War II — a unit of 350 soldiers based on the strategically important Baltic Sea island of Gotland. In the same year, Sweden also introduced a selective military draft for men and women, having previously abolished a men-only draft in 2010. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/12/15/sweden-ups-defense-budget-40-due-to-regional-tensions/
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October 30, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Collins Gets $700M to Upgrade F-15 Ejection Seats
Oct. 29, 2020 | By Brian W. Everstine F-15 Eagle drivers will get upgraded ejection seats under a new $700 million contract to Collins Aerospace, a Raytheon Technologies subsidiary, awarded on Oct. 29. The new ACES 5 ejection seat will replace the F-15's older ACES II ejection seat, found in most of the Air Force's fighter and bomber fleet. Collins, in a release, said its new seat includes improved head, neck, arm, and leg “flail prevention,” along with a catapult that can adjust based on the occupant's weight. The company claims the new seat reduces ejection-related injuries to less than 5 percent, and spinal injuries to less than 1 percent. Work will be conducted in Colorado Springs, Colo., and is expected to be complete by Oct. 22, 2030. ACES 5 has already been selected for the T-7A Red Hawk, and will also be installed on the F-16, F-22, B-1, and A-10 fleets. Under a justification and approval notice posted in October 2019, the service plans to buy 3,018 of the seats, according to FlightGlobal. https://www.airforcemag.com/collins-gets-700-million-to-upgrade-f-15-ejection-seats/