Canada Ranks 14th in Military Spending Worldwide

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute has released its latest report on worldwide military spending. It outlined the top 15 spenders on defence worldwide. Canada comes in at 14th.

Here is the top 15:

1. United States

2. China

3. Saudi Arabia

4. Russia

5. India

6. France

7. United Kingdom

8. Japan

9. Germany

10. South Korea

11. Brazil

12. Italy

13. Australia

14. Canada

15. Turkey

Here is more from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute:

Total world military expenditure rose to $1739 billion in 2017, a marginal increase of 1.1 per cent in real terms from 2016, according to new figures from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). China’s military expenditure rose again in 2017, continuing an upward trend in spending that has lasted for more than two decades.

Russia’s military spending fell for the first time since 1998, while spending by the United States remained constant for the second successive year. The comprehensive annual update of the SIPRI Military Expenditure Database is accessible at www.sipri.org.

‘Continuing high world military expenditure is a cause for serious concern,’ said Ambassador Jan Eliasson, Chair of the SIPRI Governing Board. ‘It undermines the search for peaceful solutions to conflicts around the world.’

After 13 consecutive years of increases from 1999 to 2011 and relatively unchanged spending from 2012 to 2016, total global military expenditure rose again in 2017.* Military spending in 2017 represented 2.2 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP) or $230 per person. ‘The increases in world military expenditure in recent years have been largely due to the substantial growth in spending by countries in Asia and Oceania and the Middle East, such as China, India and Saudi Arabia,’ said Dr Nan Tian, Researcher with the SIPRI Arms and Military Expenditure (AMEX) programme. ‘At the global level, the weight of military spending is clearly shifting away from the Euro–Atlantic region.’

China leads continued spending increase in Asia and Oceania

Military expenditure in Asia and Oceania rose for the 29th successive year. China, the second largest spender globally, increased its military spending by 5.6 per cent to $228 billion in 2017. China’s spending as a share of world military expenditure has risen from 5.8 per cent in 2008 to 13 per cent in 2017. India spent $63.9 billion on its military in 2017, an increase of 5.5 per cent compared with 2016, while South Korea’s spending, at $39.2 billion, rose by 1.7 per cent between 2016 and 2017. ‘Tensions between China and many of its neighbours continue to drive the growth in military spending in Asia,’ said Siemon Wezeman, Senior Researcher with the SIPRI AMEX programme.

Spending falls sharply in Russia, but rises in Central and Western Europe

At $66.3 billion, Russia’s military spending in 2017 was 20 per cent lower than in 2016, the first annual decrease since 1998. ‘Military modernization remains a priority in Russia, but the military budget has been restricted by economic problems that the country has experienced since 2014,’ said Siemon Wezeman.

Driven, in part, by the perception of a growing threat from Russia, military spending in both Central and Western Europe increased in 2017, by 12 and 1.7 per cent, respectively. Many European states are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and, within that framework, have agreed to increase their military spending. Total military spending by all 29 NATO members was $900 billion in 2017, accounting for 52 per cent of world spending.

Higher spending by Saudi Arabia drives increase in the Middle East

Military expenditure in the Middle East rose by 6.2 per cent in 2017.** Spending by Saudi Arabia increased by 9.2 per cent in 2017 following a fall in 2016. With spending of $69.4 billion, Saudi Arabia had the third highest military expenditure in the world in 2017. Iran (19 per cent) and Iraq (22 per cent) also recorded significant increases in military spending in 2017. ‘Despite low oil prices, armed conflict and rivalries throughout the Middle East are driving the rise in military spending in the region,’ said Pieter Wezeman, Senior Researcher with the SIPRI AMEX programme. In 2017 military expenditure as a share of GDP (known as the ‘military burden’) was highest in the Middle East, at 5.2 per cent. No other region in the world allocated more than 1.8 per cent of GDP to military spending.

US spending no longer in decline

The United States continues to have the highest military expenditure in the world. In 2017 the USA spent more on its military than the next seven highest-spending countries combined. At $610 billion, US military spending was unchanged between 2016 and 2017. ‘The downward trend in US military spending that started in 2010 has come to an end,’ said Dr Aude Fleurant, Director of the SIPRI AMEX programme. ‘US military spending in 2018 is set to rise significantly to support increases in military personnel and the modernization of conventional and nuclear weapons.’

Other notable developments
China made the largest absolute increase in spending ($12 billion) in 2017 (in constant 2016 prices), while Russia made the largest decrease (–$13.9 billion).

Military expenditure in South America rose by 4.1 per cent in 2017, mainly as a result of notable increases by the two largest spenders in the subregion: Argentina (up by 15 per cent) and Brazil (up by 6.3 per cent). 

Military spending in Central America and the Caribbean fell by 6.6 per cent in 2017, largely due to lower spending by Mexico (down by 8.1 per cent from 2016). 

Military expenditure in Africa decreased by 0.5 per cent in 2017, the third consecutive annual decrease since the peak in spending in 2014. Algeria’s military spending fell for the first time in over a decade (down by 5.2 per cent from 2016). 

Seven of the 10 countries with the highest military burden are in the Middle East: Oman (12 per cent of GDP), Saudi Arabia (10 per cent of GDP), Kuwait (5.8 per cent of GDP), Jordan (4.8 per cent of GDP), Israel (4.7 per cent of GDP), Lebanon (4.5 per cent of GDP) and Bahrain (4.1 per cent of GDP).

* Unless otherwise stated, all figures for spending in 2017 are given in 2017 current US dollars. All percentage changes are expressed in real terms (constant 2016 prices).

RCN and Irving Look to Sell AOPS Internationally to Fill Construction Gap

By: David Pugliese, National Post

The gap between the building of new ships for the navy could be as much as 18 months, opening the possibility of east coast shipyard employees to be laid off.

But the Defence department’s top equipment official says changes to the shipbuilding procurement process will reduce some, but not all, of that gap. Workers that could be affected would be blue-collar shipyard employees at Irving Shipbuilding.

The 18-month gap between finishing construction of the fleet of Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships or AOPS and starting the new Canadian Surface Combatant vessels at Irving shipyards in Halifax is outlined in documents obtained by Postmedia through the Access to Information law.

“We are still concerned about a gap,” Pat Finn, assistant deputy minister for materiel at the Department of National Defence, acknowledged in a recent interview.

The engineering workforce in the Irving yard is about to ramp up dramatically, he added, so there are no concerns there. “The issue is on what we call the blue‑collar workforce, and particularly (in) the early stages of construction,” Finn explained. “Those are the people that, once you’ve finished cutting steel in the last AOPS, ideally the next day you start cutting steel on the first surface combatant. Well, right now we’re not lined up to do that.”

Construction of the first surface combatants isn’t scheduled to begin until the early 2020s.

The first AOPS will be in the water in the summer and the other vessels are expected to follow fairly quickly.

“The gap is still a few years away, but clearly if we’re going to make sure there’s continuous flow of work, we’ve got to be dealing with that now,” Finn said.

He said the Royal Canadian Navy is lending its support to help promote the AOPS to international customers in the hopes of drumming up more work to shrink the size of the construction gap.

Procurement Minister Carla Qualtrough has also said she is open to the idea of additional AOPS being purchased for Canada.

Irving spokesman Sean Lewis said Wednesday that the company, the federal government and a third-party expert continue to look at the issue. “The construction of additional AOPS for Canada or international export opportunities is being considered and various options pursued,” he explained. “At this time it is premature to comment further.”

It’s way too early to talk about layoffs

In November federal government and Irving officials acknowledged their worry that highly skilled employees and their expertise could be lost in any potential gap between construction of AOPS and the surface combatants. “It’s way too early to talk about layoffs,” Irving Shipbuilding president Kevin McCoy said at the time.

The same problem has emerged in the federal shipbuilding program on the west coast and unions there warn that layoffs are coming. Seaspan Shipyards in Vancouver acknowledges there will be a gap between the construction of coast guard vessels, a situation it is trying to deal with by drumming up more work from the federal government or from the commercial marketplace.

Such gaps were supposed to be prevented by the federal government’s national shipbuilding strategy, which called for the continuous build of vessels, ensuring steady employment for a skilled labour force.

The Canadian Surface Combatant program will cost between $55 billion and $60 billion. Fifteen ships will be eventually built. Three consortiums have bid on the program.

Artits Rendering of the BAE Type-26 Global Combat Ship; which many believe is the frontrunner in the CSC Fleet Proposal.

Finn said a contract is expected to be awarded by the end of the year.

About half of the cost of the surface combatants is for systems and equipment that will go on the 15 ships, according to federal documents obtained by Postmedia through the Access the Information law. “Approximately one-half of the CSC build cost is comprised of labour in the (Irving’s) Halifax yard and materials,” the documents added.

Last year, Jean-Denis Fréchette, the Parliamentary Budget Officer, estimated the CSC program would cost $61.82 billion. He also warned that every year the awarding of the contract is delayed beyond 2018, taxpayers will spend an extra $3 billion because of inflation.

CAF Grows More Top Heavy

By: Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — The Canadian military has been getting heavier up top and not in the muffin sort of way.

New figures show the ranks of the Canadian Forces' senior brass have been growing at a much faster rate than the rest of the military over the last 15 years as dozens of generals and admirals have been added.

How much faster? There were 130 generals and admirals in January 2018 compared with 81 during same month in 2003 — a 60 per cent increase over a period in which the rest of the military grew by less than two per cent.

Defence chief Gen. Jonathan Vance stood by the additional brass in an interview on Wednesday and said he plans to grow the senior ranks even more in the coming years in response to new demands and challenges.

"The number of general officers in militaries is not a direct reflection or correlation to the number of people you have in your military," he told The Canadian Press. "We don't grow generals because we want more generals."

Defence experts are divided over the rapid rate of expansion, with some saying it is necessary and others warning about the potential draw on resources from other parts of the military, particularly in terms of combat readiness.

One high-profile review conducted in 2010 by then-lieutenant-general Andrew Leslie, now a Liberal MP and parliamentary secretary for Canada-U.S. relations, specifically called for a reduction in senior military positions.

"Initiatives to reduce overhead should target the disproportionate increases in senior management ... aiming to restore civilian and military (executive) positions to roughly 2004 levels," Leslie wrote.

Vance pushed back against suggestions the Canadian Forces is in danger of getting a brass bulge, saying there have been important changes over the past 15 years that require more generals.

For example, he said, Canada has deployed more senior officers to act as liaison officers with various U.S. and foreign commands in response to evolving threats and the need for greater understanding of what is happening overseas.

New priorities have also emerged with regards to space and cyber operations, while Vance said he has specifically appointed senior officers to manage sensitive personnel files such as sexual misconduct and veterans' issues.

"So those are positions that get filled as a result of how it is that we want to improve our own performance in a force that's growing or has gotten new needs," he said.

"I put a general officer in a place where I need a general officer. And there are a number of factors that lead to that. It's not always how many people are you leading. It might be the job that you're doing."

Defence analysts were largely united in their belief that some type of growth at the top of the military over the past 15 years was to be expected — and even necessary.

"The business of defence has become increasingly complex over the last 20 years," Canadian Forces College professor Eric Ouellet said in an email. "So, there is a need for more 'management' and therefore more (senior officers)."

But David Perry of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute was among those who questioned the extent of the "rank creep," especially since the numbers continued to climb even as the Harper government cut the Forces earlier this decade.

Many units were forced to park vehicles or cut training as they faced budget reductions of up to 15 per cent, which has only been reversed in the past couple of years.

"I'm sure there are defensible explanations for all of them," Perry said of the continued increase in senior officers.

"It's just when you step back and look at 50 positions and that kind of percentage increase which vastly exceeds the overall increase in the size of the force, then it's a little bit harder to rationalize the collective picture."

CF-18 Replacement Program Does Not Account for Losses from Attrition

By: David Pugliese, Defence Watch

A Canadian government project to buy new fighter jets does not include replacement aircraft to deal with those lost to attrition.

The 2018 Demonstration Hornet (foreground) flies with a CF-188 Hornet from 401 Squadron. The Demo Hornet pays tribute to the 60th anniversary of NORAD. Mike Reyno Photo

The Liberal government says it will acquire 88 advanced fighter jets to replace the current fleet of CF-18s.

The fleet size is based on the Canadian Armed Forces requirement to have sufficient fighter aircraft to fulfill Canada’s NORAD and NATO commitments simultaneously, based on planned aircraft serviceability rates and aircraft required for training, said RCAF spokesman Maj. Scott Spurr.

“If the RCAF loses any future fighters due to attrition, it would be a policy decision on whether attrition aircraft would be replaced, and if so how,” Spurr told Defence Watch.

The RCAF did not answer whether it had projected any estimates on how many aircraft are expected to be lost to attrition over the course of the program.

Is sending helicopters to Mali good enough?

By Chris Kilford

Given the recent concern over Canada’s upcoming contribution to the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), one might easily assume that up until now few Canadians had ever set foot in Mali. However, this is far from the case – Canada is Mali’s second-most important bilateral development partner, after France.

Sgt Chad Zopf, a door gunner, onboard a Griffon helicopter while on exercise in Afghanistan.

At the Embassy of Canada in Mali, which opened in the city of Bamako in 1970, the Université Laval and various Canadian non-governmental organizations have been working for years to improve the daily lives of Malians.

In the past 12 months alone, and with the support of the Canadian government, efforts were underway to: improve agricultural output and food security; to assist community health physicians graduate from the University of Bamako; and to provide new software to Mali’s government for improving domestic revenue collection.

Meanwhile, several Canadian mining companies have significant investments in Mali. B2Gold Corporation, for example, operates the Fekola Mine with a 950-strong, mostly Malian workforce. According to Canada’s Ambassador, Louis Verret, the gold sector “accounts for about 66% of Mali's exports and is therefore critical for government revenue.”

However, since 2012, Mali has been gripped by civil war in part fuelled by the Canadian-backed ouster of Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Following his death, many Malian Tuareg fighters who had fought for his regime, returned home to fight for their own space in northern Mali. And, while a peace agreement between the government and its main opponents (including the Tuareg) was signed in 2015, little has changed on the security front. Instead, the French, the G5 Sahel regional force, and MINUSMA are doing what they can to contain various rebel factions.

As for MINUSMA, it is only as good as the troops it gets from contributing countries – and many western armies, which could make a big difference – are noticeably absent from the front lines. For a mission deployed in an asymmetrical conflict environment, this is a big problem, and has resulted in significant casualties for UN troops that have largely been drawn from developing countries.

Still, not all is lost. In June 2017, the UN instructed MINUSMA to fully concentrate its efforts on supporting the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation and step-up efforts to redeploy Malian security forces to the centre and north of the country. To help, an EU Training Mission with 580 personnel is re-building the military, while 128 personnel with the EU Capacity Building Mission are focused on training the police, gendarmerie and national guard.

As for Canada, it will soon send six helicopters and approximately 250 personnel for 12 months in support of MINUSMA. For those wanting Canada to take on a more active international role, it’s good news. But when it comes to truly helping the UN, apparently our deeds are falling short of our words. Sending helicopters is important, but it’s not quite what many had expected from a government that has been consistently eager to portray itself internationally as a serious player on the world stage.

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Chris Kilford is a former Army Officer and defence attaché who served in Afghanistan and Turkey. Currently he is a fellow with the Queen's Centre for International and Defence Policy.