Military Balance 2009 - Press Coverage
- 25 May 2009 - - BBC News - North Korea: engage, appease, oppose?
North Korea has a million-strong army, with more than 4,000 tanks and about 18,000 artillery pieces, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Its forces are encamped only a short distance from the South Korean capital, Seoul. An Iraq-style invasion is not possible.
- 20 May 2009 - - Reuters - How big is Iran's military?
There are nearly 1,700 tanks including some 100 Zulfiqar locally produced main battle tanks. A large number of Iran's tanks are elderly British-made Chieftains and U.S.-made M-60s.
Soviet-made T-54 and T-55s, T-59s, T-62s, and T-72s were also part of the inventory, all captured from the Iraqis or acquired from North Korea and China.
A report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies says that some of the tanks' serviceability may be in doubt.
- 19 May 2009 - - BBC News - Lessons of war from Tigers' defeat
The basis of the plan can be seen in the dominance of artillery in the government's arsenal.
It has 157 heavy guns, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
These are led by 40 massive 152mm artillery pieces, called the Type 66, a Chinese copy of a Soviet weapon.
- 14 Apr 2009 - - BBC News - North Korea: engage, appease, oppose?
North Korea has a million-strong army, with more than 4,000 tanks and about 18,000 artillery pieces, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
- 13 Apr 2009 - - Defense News - Europeans Ramp Up Regional Market Push
As Brazil boosts spending on major platforms such as fighter aircraft, helicopters, and conventionally and nuclear-powered submarines, Spain may lose its spot as its top supplier. To start funding those requirements, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva earlier this year started pushing for a more than 50 percent increase in defense spending through to 2010. Business Monitor International reported in February that Brazil's defense minister, Nelson Jobim, is raising the equipment procurement budget
- 14 Apr 2009 - - Calcutta Telegraph - Another Divisive Measure
The break-up of the armed forces of India, as reported by Military Balance 2009, published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, London, is as follows: army 1,100,000; navy; 55,000; air force 1,40,000 and the paramilitary 1,300,586. One may safely infer that the jawans who constitute at least 95 per cent of the total strength are unlikely to fall under the tax bracket. That will leave a total of 1,29,780 Class I officers out of the income-tax net.
