Britain's defence ambitions are facing renewed scrutiny as mounting budget pressures raise questions about the future of key military programs, including aircraft linked to the country's nuclear deterrence strategy. With defence spending under pressure and strategic threats evolving, policymakers are being forced to weigh military modernization against fiscal constraints. The debate comes at a time of heightened geopolitical uncertainty and growing demands on NATO members to strengthen their defence capabilities. This report examines the budget challenges, the potential impact on Britain's military plans, and what it could mean for national security.

Budget Crisis Puts Nuclear Jets At Risk: Britain Faces New Defence Questions

US President Donald Trump expressed his desire to hold talks with Russia and China to reduce military spending, with a potential summit involving leaders Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. Watch this report for more details!

Donald Trump proposes halving US, China & Russia military budgets

China will increase its defence spending by 7.2 per cent in 2024 as Beijing adopts a tougher language against Taiwan. According to official reports, this year's military budget has increased almost twice under Xi Jinping's more than a decade in office.

China will increase its defence spending by 7.2 per cent in 2024 as Beijing adopts a tougher language against Taiwan. According to official reports, this year's military budget has increased almost twice under Xi Jinping's more than a decade in office. The increase matches last year's rate and exceeds the government's growth forecast. As China released the budget figures, it has also hardened its stance against Taiwan, reported Reuters. Moreover, the government work delivered by Premier Li Qiang at the opening of the National People's Congress (NPC) on Tuesday did not mention the "peaceful reunification". In recent years, tensions have risen steadily over Taiwan and elsewhere across East Asia as regional military developments rise in the democratically ruled island that China claims as its own. ALSO READ | Tesla shares plunge over 7 per cent as China sales decline: Report Li Mingjiang, a defence scholar at the Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore, said that Taiwan is a prominent concern for Beijing's defence spending despite a suffering Chinese economy. "China is showing that in the coming decade it wants to grow its military to the point where it is prepared to win a war if it has no choice but to fight one," Li said. Xi Jinping became the president and commander-in-chief of China in 2013. Since then, China's defence budget has risen to 1.67 trillion yuan ($230.60 billion) in 2024 from 720 billion yuan in 2013. During his time in office, the increase in military spending has consistently surpassed the annual domestic economic growth target. According to the government work report, the growth target is about five per cent in 2024, the same as last year's goal. According to the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), China has raised its defence spending for the 30th year straight. In a research published in February 2024, the IISS said that new military equipment purchases might be the most prominent portion of the military budget. However, despite the defence budget outpacing the GDP growth, the defence spending has stayed at about 1.3 per cent of the overall GDP in the last decade, said James Char, a security scholar at the RSIS. "Of course, the country's longer-term economic fortunes will determine whether this can be sustained going forward," he added. China has restated the call for "reunification" with Taiwan in the government work report. It dropped the descriptor "peaceful," used in previous reports, highlighting that it wants to "be firm" in doing so. (With inputs from agencies)

China to raise defence spending as Beijing adopts tougher language against Taiwan on reunification

Japan is reinforcing its military might to counter China's growing military expansionism. The Japanese Ministry of Defence is set to get a record $51.7 billion budget next year. Palki Sharma Upadhyay decodes the budget allocations.

Gravitas: Decoding Japan's $51.7 billion defence budget

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga`s government approved a ninth consecutive rise in military spending on Monday, funding the development of an advanced stealth fighter and longer-range anti-ship missile to counter China`s growing military power. 
 
The Ministry of Defense will get a record 5.34 trillion yen ($51.7 billion) for the year starting in April, up 1.1% from this year. With Suga`s large majority in parliament, enactment of the budget is all but certain. 
 
Suga is continuing the controversial military expansion pursued by his predecessor, Shinzo Abe, to give Japan`s forces new planes, missiles and aircraft carriers with greater range and potency against potential foes including neighbouring China. 
 
China plans to raise its military spending 6.6% this year, the smallest increase in three decades. 
 
Japan is buying longer-range missiles and considering arming and training its military to strike distant land targets in China, North Korea and other parts of Asia. 
 
A planned jet fighter, the first in three decades, is expected to cost around $40 billion and be ready in the 2030s. That project, which will be led by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd with help from Lockheed Martin Corp, gets $706 million in the new budget. 
 
Japan will spend $323 million to begin development of a long-range anti-ship missile to defend its southwestern Okinawan island chain. 
 
Other big purchases include $628 million for six Lockheed F-35 stealth fighters, including two short-takeoff and vertical-landing (STOVL) B variants that will operate off a converted helicopter carrier. 
 
The military will also get $912 million to build two compact warships that can operate with fewer sailors than conventional destroyers, easing pressure on a navy struggling to find recruits in an ageing population. 
 
Japan also wants two new warships to carry powerful new Aegis air and ballistic missile defence radars that have much as three times the range of older models. The government has not yet estimated the cost of the plan, which replaces a project cancelled in June to construct two ground Aegis Ashore stations.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga`s government approved a ninth consecutive rise in military spending on Monday, funding the development of an advanced stealth fighter and longer-range anti-ship missile to counter China`s growing military power.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga`s government approved a ninth consecutive rise in military spending on Monday, funding the development of an advanced stealth fighter and longer-range anti-ship missile to counter China`s growing military power. The Ministry of Defense will get a record 5.34 trillion yen ($51.7 billion) for the year starting in April, up 1.1% from this year. With Suga`s large majority in parliament, enactment of the budget is all but certain. Suga is continuing the controversial military expansion pursued by his predecessor, Shinzo Abe, to give Japan`s forces new planes, missiles and aircraft carriers with greater range and potency against potential foes including neighbouring China. China plans to raise its military spending 6.6% this year, the smallest increase in three decades. Japan is buying longer-range missiles and considering arming and training its military to strike distant land targets in China, North Korea and other parts of Asia. A planned jet fighter, the first in three decades, is expected to cost around $40 billion and be ready in the 2030s. That project, which will be led by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd with help from Lockheed Martin Corp, gets $706 million in the new budget. Japan will spend $323 million to begin development of a long-range anti-ship missile to defend its southwestern Okinawan island chain. Other big purchases include $628 million for six Lockheed F-35 stealth fighters, including two short-takeoff and vertical-landing (STOVL) B variants that will operate off a converted helicopter carrier. The military will also get $912 million to build two compact warships that can operate with fewer sailors than conventional destroyers, easing pressure on a navy struggling to find recruits in an ageing population. Japan also wants two new warships to carry powerful new Aegis air and ballistic missile defence radars that have much as three times the range of older models. The government has not yet estimated the cost of the plan, which replaces a project cancelled in June to construct two ground Aegis Ashore stations.

Japan sets record $52 billion military budget to counter China's growing military power

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's government approved a ninth consecutive rise in military spending on Monday, funding the development of an advanced stealth fighter and longer-range anti-ship missile to counter China's growing military power.

Japan sets record $52 bln military budget with stealth jets, long-range missiles

military-budget

Military Budget, News on Military Budget, stories on Military Budget, articles on Military Budget, Military Budget stories at Wion, Military Budget news, Military Budget latest news