The Military Balance 2006 Press Coverage
- NATO chief calls for better ties with EU
Collectively the EU countries spend some 190 billion U.S. dollars on defense every year compared to the U.S. expenditure of 290 billion U.S. dollars, according to figures from theInternational Institute for Strategic Studies.
- Merkel's U.S. visit
The German military is still in the process of restructuring -- changing a Cold War force into one more easily deployable and better suited to missions like those it faces in Lebanon and Afghanistan. The financial commitment, however, has steadily decreased as a percent of gross domestic product since the mid-1980s until the election of Mrs. Merkel. According to the 2006 edition of "The Military Balance," an annual publication of the International Institute for Strategic Studies,...
- Battle-hardened Ethiopians test limits
The Ethiopian army is relying largely on Cold War-era hardware from the former Soviet Union, but it is also benefiting from more recent training by the U.S. military, with which it is allied in Washington's so-called war on terrorism. According to several sources, including the International Institute of Strategic Studies and the U.S. State Department, there are about 200,000 personnel in the Ethiopian National Defence Forces, which makes it one of the most formidable militaries in Africa.
- Ethiopia's armed forces
Jane's World Armies and the International Institute of Strategic Studies estimate the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) at between 150 000 to 180 000 personnel, backed by solid but mainly old Soviet-era ground and air power.
- Unique missile baffles diplomats in Egypt
Other countries have asked Vashchuk's company to upgrade their S-125 SAM systems. The Military Balance, an annual report published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, says Myanmar, Cuba, Peru, Slovakia, Vietnam, Syria, Libya, Bulgaria and India all have about 500 such systems, 200 to 250 of which can be overhauled. This means that Oboronitelnye Sistemy will have a lot of work in the foreseeable future.
- Analysis: North Korea test a sign of weakness
North Korea is also sandwiched by two economic powerhouses: South Korea and China. Though according to the International Institute of Strategic Studies, the north has 1.1m under arms, its conventional military is poorly equipped and maintained. North Korea has a population less than half the south’s 49m, while its economy is an estimated 40 times smaller than that of the south. That would mean that the south’s defence budget – put by the IISS at $23.5bn this year – is...