Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, and since then only one thing has been certain: the rest of Europe is desperate to build military muscle as soon as possible to help counter any further predatory moves by Moscow.
Europe must race to ensure it can better defend itself as new military threats could emerge by the end of the decade even as the focus of security ally the U.S. shifts towards the Indo-Pacific, Germany’s defense minister has already warned.
Russia was hiking its weapons production considerably to sustain its invasion of Ukraine, while also threatening the Baltic states, Georgia and Moldova, Boris Pistorius was quoted as saying in an interview with Welt am Sonntag last week.
“We Europeans must engage more to ensure security on our own continent,” said Pistorius, noting, however, it would take time for the region to increase its own weapons production.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said Europe must move increase its own weapons production as soon as possible in a world of increasing uncertainty.(Sascha Schuermann/Getty Images)
Since then Czech Defence Minister Jana Černochová confirmed the course and speed which Europe is moving when she announced Thursday her country is advancing negotiations with Germany to carry out a joint acquisition of up to 77 new Leopard 2A8 main battlefield tanks.
The NATO member is also nearing the completion of talks to buy C-390 Millennium transport aircraft and F-35 Lightning II fighter jets.
Teaming up with Berlin to purchase new tanks is expected to ensure “better conditions from the manufacturer, especially in terms of the price, delivery time,” the minister told local news site CZDefence.cz in an interview.
Meanwhile, Defense News reports Spain has ordered 16 Airbus C295 aircraft in maritime patrol and surveillance configurations for €1.7 billion (U.S. $1.9 billion), Airbus announced Wednesday.
Ukraine Money Train: Kyiv Spending $100 Million Per Day on War, Says Ousted Defence Ministerhttps://t.co/geuzseBTiR
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) September 5, 2023
Six maritime patrol variants will come equipped for anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare missions, replacing the Spanish P-3 Orion fleet that retired at the end of 2022, Airbus said.
Equipment for each of these aircraft includes a magnetic anomaly detector and sonarbuoys for submarine detection; a multimode radar for long-range target detection; and satellite communications technology.
The German Defence Ministry has also signed a contract with Airbus for 62 H145M light attack helicopters, with a portion of the fleet equipped to fight tanks from afar — a direct lesson from the fighting in Ukraine.
New Leopard 2 A7V tanks from the German Army stand on the barracks grounds during the ceremonial handover for Tank Battalion 104. Tank Battalion 104 will gradually be equipped with Leopard 2 A7V main battle tanks over the coming months. (Daniel Karmann/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Air Chief Marshal Mike Wigston (left) and Station Commander for RAF Coningsby Billy Cooper (right) with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during his visit to RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire following the announcement Britain will work to develop next-generation fighter jets with Italy and Japan. (Joe Giddens – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Under the order, 57 of the aircraft will go to the Army and five to Air Force special operations forces.
Twenty more are envisioned under a future option, Airbus Helicopters said in a Dec. 14 statement. Deliveries will begin in 2024, according to the vendor.
As Breitbart News reported, Europe’s rearming comes on the back of a global boom in military spending.
Figures released in April showed $2.24 trillion was outlaid globally in 2022 with Europe leading the way due to Ukraine’s demands for continued supplies of battlefield hardware.
UK Defence Secretary Warns ‘War is Coming’ to Britain, Demands More Military Spendinghttps://t.co/Hx8AqekbJw
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 24, 2023
Spending overall rose for the eighth consecutive year, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in its annual report on global military expenditure.
There was a 13 percent rise in Europe, the steepest in at least 30 years, coming on the back of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and broader insecurity around the world.
Group Captain Chris Layden, station commander, in front of the first of the RAF’s new Poseidon MRA1 planes intended for submarine-hunting and the tracking of maritime targets, at RAF Lossiemouth, Moray. ( Jane Barlow/PA Images via Getty Images)
Some of the sharpest increases were seen in Finland (+36 percent), Lithuania (+27 percent), Sweden (+12 percent) and Poland (+11 percent).
“The continuous rise in global military expenditure in recent years is a sign that we are living in an increasingly insecure world,” Nan Tian, senior researcher with SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme, said.
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