US approves $500 million sale for Saudi Arabia’s combat vehicle upkeep

On the same subject

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  June 10, 2020 | International, Naval

  Leonardo signs a framework agreement for the maintenance of defence systems in-service with the Danish Navy

  Rome June 9, 2020 - Leonardo has signed a twenty-year framework agreement with the Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation (DALO) which provides for logistics support and the possible future upgrade of the seventeen 76/62 Super Rapid Gun Mounts which are in-service on the Danish Navy's Iver Huitfeldt Class Frigates, Thetis Class Inspection Ships and Knud Rasmussen Class Inspection Ships. The agreement is worth up to a total value of 70 million Euros and can be extended in line with the needs of DALO and future budgets. The 76/62 Super Rapid (SR) Gun Mount is a lightweight, rapid-fire naval gun which delivers performance and flexibility in all air defence and anti-surface roles, particularly in an anti-missile role. The 76/62 SR is suitable for installation on ships of any type and class, including small naval units. The scope of the agreement between Leonardo and DALO ranges from basic support supplies, such as spare parts, tools and technical logistics services, up to gun upgrades and the provision of brand new 76/62 SR guns in their most up-to-date configurations. The first purchase orders are expected to be for materials necessary to maintain operational guns and for a plan to replace all original consoles with a new digital version. The deal highlights Leonardo's ability to ensure customers to perform their mission, by offering logistics solutions which maximise the value and utility of its products over time. It consolidates the Company's partnership with DALO, one of the most important customers in the naval defence systems sector, a relationship which formed in the 1980s and is projected to last long into the future. View source version on Leonardo: https://www.leonardocompany.com/en/press-release-detail/-/detail/09-06-2020-leonardo-signs-a-framework-agreement-for-the-maintenance-of-defence-systems-in-service-with-the-danish-navy

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  August 18, 2023 | International, Aerospace

  US approves sending F-16s to Ukraine from Denmark and Netherlands | Reuters

  The United States has approved sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine from Denmark and the Netherlands to defend against Russian invaders as soon as pilot training is completed, a U.S. official said on Thursday.

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  April 28, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR

  Global defense spending sees biggest spike in a decade

  By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — Global defense spending hit $1.917 trillion in 2019, a 3.6 percent increase over previous year figures and the largest increase in one year since 2010, according to the annual report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The United States remains the world's largest defense spender in 2019, with its $732 billion representing 38 percent of global military spending, SIPRI has reported. That was followed by China ($261 billion, at 14 percent of global total), India ($71.1 billion, at 3.7 percent), Russia ($65.1 billion, at 3.4 percent) and Saudi Arabia ($61.9 billion, at 3.2 percent). All told, the top five nations accounted for 62 percent of overall military spending. “Global military expenditure was 7.2 percent higher in 2019 than it was in 2010, showing a trend that military spending growth has accelerated in recent years,” SIPRI's Nan Tian said in a statement. “This is the highest level of spending since the 2008 global financial crisis and probably represents a peak in expenditure.” Large year-over-year increases were seen in China (5.1 percent), India (6.8 percent), Russia (4.5 percent), Germany (10 percent) and South Korea (7.5 percent). Regionally, military spending increased in Europe by 5 percent, Asia and Oceania by 4.8 percent, the Americas by 4.7 percent, and Africa by 1.5 percent. Combined military spending by the 29 NATO member states was $1.035 trillion in 2019. SIPRI is widely considered to be the authority on military expenditures and exports, having gathered such data for decades. Other key developments, as noted by the researchers: Together, the top 15 countries spent $1.553 trillion, 81 percent of global military spending. All but three countries in the top 15 had higher military expenditures in 2019 than in 2010, the exceptions being the U.S. (15 percent drop), the U.K. (15 percent drop) and Italy (11 percent drop.) Total military expenditures of the 11 countries in the Middle East for which data is available decreased by 7.5 percent to $147 billion, driven in part by an estimated 16 percent drop from Saudi Arabia. That overall percentage also decreased in 2018. SIPRI was unable to calculate totals from Qatar, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Military spending in South America was relatively unchanged from the previous year, coming in at $52.8 billion. Fifty-one percent of that spending, $26.9 billion, came from Brazil. Combined military expenditures from Africa grew by 1.5 percent to an estimated $41.2 billion in 2019, the first time that region saw a spending increase in five years. That includes plus-ups in Burkina Faso (22 percent), Cameroon (1.4 percent), Mali (3.6 percent), the Central African Republic (8.7 percent), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (16 percent) and Uganda (52 percent). Of the 149 countries SIPRI studied, 10 allocated 4 percent or more of their gross domestic product to the military, which the group defines as the “military burden.” Thirteen countries had a military burden of 3 to 3.9 percent of GDP; 24 had a military burden of 2 to 2.9 percent; 65 had a military burden of 1 to 1.9 percent; and 34 allocated less than 1 percent of their GDP to the military. Three countries had no military expenditures in 2019: Costa Rica, Iceland and Panama. https://www.defensenews.com/global/2020/04/27/global-defense-spending-sees-biggest-spike-in-a-decade/