We featured previous reporting which outlined a new US framework for defense of Europe based on the US mainly ‘just’ providing nuclear deterrent rather than the broad military support it has historically guaranteed.
The primary driver for this withdrawal is the US military’s pivot toward the Asia-Pacific, though officials also cited the need for flexibility to commit assets to military campaigns in the Middle East and the Western Hemisphere.
And yet his new budget proposes a 50% increase in military spending.
As we see me to be pulling back on the spending we’re doing overseas, one can only wonder what all this new money is destined for. (Yes, I know Congress gets a vote, but I hardly expect the current day spend to be smaller next year. It never is.)
$1.5 Trillion Budget Request Prioritizes Service Members, Modernization https://www.war.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/4465551/15-trillion-budget-request-prioritizes-service-members-modernization/
“This is a generational investment in the United States military— the arsenal of freedom,” Hurst said. “This 42% increase will supercharge our defense industrial base by expanding production of major weapon systems, while strengthening supply chains and supporting tens of thousands of small and medium-sized businesses. It secures our homeland and military advantage through investments in the Golden Dome missile defense system, drone dominance and space superiority.”
This year’s budget request puts a huge focus on buying and investing in actual hardware, Hurst said. About 52% of the total budget request is aimed at buying munitions, planes, tanks and ships.
We have discussed a pivot to the Pacific for around 15 years. If we don’t move a muscle the EU won’t cough up a dime to do anything for themselves. Pray for peace. Then you better start to reconsider.
Macron’s office said the two had discussed the project at length and regretted that the main industry partners, European aerospace group Airbus, which represents Germany and Spain, and France’s Dassault Aviation, had not been able to reach an agreement.
The decision to end the core pillar of Europe’s largest defence project comes at a time when Western military officials have warned of a growing threat from Russia is stepping up pressure for Europe.
Well this is a wonderful word salad, appropo of nothing. We already spend a trillion dollars a year in that department; now it’s gonna be almost $1.5T? Next on the list is China, at about 1/3 the amount. And at around that same number is every EU nation, collectively: 1. Austria, 2. Belgium, 3. Bulgaria, 4. Croatia, 5. Cyprus, 6. Czechia (Czech Republic), 7. Denmark, 8. Estonia, 9. Finland, 10. France, 11. Germany, 12. Greece, 13. Hungary, 14. Ireland, 15. Italy, 16. Latvia, 17. Lithuania, 18. Luxembourg, 19. Malta, 20. Netherlands, 21. Poland, 22. Portugal, 23. Romania, 24. Slovakia, 25. Slovenia, 26. Spain, 27. Sweden
But since those countries are ostensibly on our side (at least until we pissthem off some more), who is it that we are likely to fight, and therefore should prepare against? OK, China. Maybe Russia? $150 billion,about 1/10th as much.
I know glorious leader has proposed this, but are glorious followers in line with this absurd idea? Inquiring minds…
In detail they describe a sea change in how wars are fought asymmetrically by lesser powers vs. major powers. Drone “Keynesianism” where small countries mass produce thousands of inexpensive drones daily while superpowers like Russia and the U.S. produce billion dollar missiles which are produced by multinational corporations and take years to replace.
Germany and France are mid level powers who are making cutting edge deals with Ukraine to produce weapons they can mass produce and use effectively. Iran beat us with them and Ukraine is putting up a mighty fight for their existence with them.
There have been numerous threads here about the need to replenish stockpile of missiles and munitions, to increase drone capabilities, strengthen to supply chains, and other similar articles.
In reading articles during the Gaza floating pier episode (April 2024) I was discouraged to read about the lack of maintenance and downsizing of capabilities.
Some excerpts from 2024:
The ACB1 (Amphibious Construction Battalion, also known as SeaBees) out of San Diego is sending ships and sailors. It is a long way from the Pacific to the eastern Med, but it seems ACB2 based in Virginia was decommissioned in March.
USNS Bobo had to turn back after an engine fire… USNS Button was on sea trail after a shipyard period in Mobile and suffered a fire that resulted in flooding the engine room with CO2.
A retired Army chief warrant officer who has significant experience in the Army’s watercraft community also told Military.com in an interview Wednesday that “if those boats don’t have multiple major mechanical failures – I mean ‘dead in the water’ mechanical failures – I will be shocked. They’re horrendously maintained. I’ve got videos of these things falling apart,” the retired officer added.
The UK is having difficulty meeting its current commitments.
The UK’s armed forces will have to “dial back” training and operations if they do not receive more cash than is currently being offered, the chief of the defence staff has warned. Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton said the government’s Defence Investment Plan (DIP) did not include enough funding to support “day-to-day activities” in the short term…
The government has committed to increasing defence spending to 3.5% of national income by 2035, in line with allies in the Nato military alliance…
In his Commons resignation statement, he [John Healey, defense secretary] told MPs: "At this dangerous time, I see the current defense investment plans falling well short of what is required, a rise at 0.08% from next year to 2030, no date for reaching 3%, no path to 3.5%.
Hold on do we know with certainty? I keep saying China is watching our F35 program. Would China watch our parade of bad news? No way! Way? Good thing we never plant false stories! Wink
Germany’s rearmament program can’t seem to get out of its own way.
Germany’s Defense Ministry has canceled its troubled F126 frigate program, scrapping plans to build six specialized anti-submarine warships and opting instead to procure eight MEKO A-200 frigates from ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, the ministry announced Wednesday.
The decision follows years of delays and cost overruns under Dutch shipbuilder Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding, which was awarded the original contract in 2020 to build six of the 10,550-ton frigates for roughly €10 billion ($11.3 billion)…
The German navy operates 10 frigates, though none specialize in submarine-hunting. The 121-meter (397-foot) MEKO-class ships can’t carry as many weapons or sensors as the 166-meter F126 design…
Of course. They need fighters to fill different roles. It’s extremely difficult to get a design that fills two (or more) roles successfully. Germany has different needs than France, so it was almost certainly going to fail. (e.g. France has a new aircraft carrier they need to populate with the latest fighter, while Germany does not and is envisioning land-based fighters.)
Why did it take them 9-10 years to figure that out?
“FCAS was announced in July 2017 by President Emmanuel Macron and then-Chancellor Angela Merkel as a flagship symbol of Franco-German defense cooperation. Spain joined as a third partner in 2019.”