Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1474484
15 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 27 JULY 2022 EUROPE establish a Defence Innovation Accelerator, backed by a multi- national innovation fund. NA- TO says this will "bring together governments, the private sector, and academia". With its 14-aircraft Boeing E-3A surveillance fleet sched- uled to leave use by 2035, it also "endorsed a strategy which will ensure the seamless delivery of the next generation Airborne Warning and Control System and related capabilities". Boeing was in March awarded a risk-re- duction and feasibility study contract linked to the effort, leading a coalition of partners under the ABILITI banner. And progress is being made with regard to a key requirement for member states to spend a minimum of 2% of their GDP on defence. In a report published ahead of the summit, NATO estimates suggested that only nine of its members would hit the tar- get this year: Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Po- land, Slovakia, the UK, and the USA. Another 10 should spend between 1.5% and 1.99%, while funding from 10 others should be below 1.5%. The remaining member, Iceland, does not have a military. However, "For the seventh con- secutive year, defencespending has been increased, and more and more allies are meeting our guideline," Stoltenberg says. The picture is more positive when it comes to the percentage of the defence budget a nation allocates to procurement activi- ties each year. Here, NATO has a 20% target, and its figures show that 24 countries should exceed that level this year. Its latest analysis does not, however, take account of the major spending increases an- nounced by multiple nations in reaction to Russia's aggression in Ukraine. Germany, for example, allocated an additional €100 bil- lion ($102 billion) shortly after hostilities started, and Poland has pledged to boost its outlay to 3% of GDP. Sweden, meanwhile, intends to hit the 2% target by 2028. But beyond boosting member- ship to 32 nations and establish- ing a new Nordic flank along the Russian border, how will the in- corporation of Finland and Swe- den change NATO's combined equipment strength? Cirium fleets data used in our 2022 World Air Forces direc- tory shows that as of late last year, NATO nations had a com- bined 20,669 military aircraft in service. At the same time, Rus- sia's armed forces – which have subsequently been significantly depleted by the war in Ukraine – had just 20% of this strength, at 4,173. NATO also has its Boe- ing 707-based E-3As, while Northrop Grumman has com- pleted deliveries of five RQ- 4D Global Hawks via the Al- liance Ground Surveillance programme. Joint efforts Pooling and sharing arrange- ments account for additional ca- pabilities, including three Boeing C-17s used by the Strategic Air- lift Consortium of NATO and Partnership for Peace members from Papa air base in Hungary. And five Airbus Defence & Space A330 multirole tanker transports (MRTTs) have so far entered use with the NATO Multinational MRTT Fleet or- ganisation at Eindhoven air base in the Netherlands. This is due to grow to at least nine of the type, but could expand further if addi- tional nations join the initiative, which so far involves Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Norway. Meanwhile, a combined 396 military aircraft were in active use in Finland (192) and Sweden (204). Helsinki's assets include 165 air force and 27 army aircraft, while Stockholm has 151 air force as- sets and 53 rotorcraft with its Defence Helicopter Wing. The nations' most notable on- going acquisitions are in the combat aircraft sector. Finland last December selected the Lockheed Martin F-35A for its 64-aircraft HX programme need, to replace its Boeing F/A- 18C/Ds. A letter of offer and ac- ceptance for the €8.4 billion deal was signed in early February, and deliveries of its Block 4-standard stealth fighters will take place between 2025 and 2030. Sweden, meanwhile, has 60 Saab Gripen Es on order, with the new-gener- ation model to enter operational use later this decade. In a strategically significant move, Sweden on 30 June signed a roughly SKr7.3 billion ($714 million) contract to acquire an initial two Saab GlobalEye sur- veillance aircraft: the announce- ment came just one day after NATO had approved its mem- bership request. Deliveries of the extensively modified Bombardier Global 6000s will occur in 2027, with the contract also covering op- tions on up to two additional examples. Saab points to the more than 300nm (550km) performance of the GlobalEye's Erieye ER ex- tended-range radar, "as well as a suite of advanced sensors and a command and control sys- tem". Capable of flying above 30,000ft for 11h, the platform can simultaneously monitor air- borne, maritime and land-based threats. The company has previously said that the Erieye ER has 70% greater detection range than its radar used on the Swedish air force's current pair of Saab 340 airborne surveillance and control aircraft. The sensor al- so is capable of identifying and tracking low-level threats such as cruise missiles and attack hel- icopters. Noting that it is "a defensive Alliance and poses no threat to any country", NATO says it "will continue to protect our popu- lations and defend every inch of allied territory at all times. We will build on our newly en- hanced posture, and significant- ly strengthen our deterrence and defence for the long term to en- sure the security and defence of all allies". How Russia reacts to its ad- versary defining it as the "most significant and direct threat" at a time when Moscow is out- equipped five-to-one in airframe terms is another unknown. The spectre of a future escalation in hostilities is of concern, with Putin having warned of unspeci- fied consequences for continued expansion and the provision of advanced weapons to Ukraine. Moscow has even alluded to po- tentially upping the readiness of its nuclear forces. Stoltenberg points to the word- ing of a UN declaration that was agreed by China, France, Russia, the UK and the USA in January 2022, which stated: "A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought". Their agree- ment added: "Nuclear weapons – for as long as they continue to exist – should serve defensive purposes, deter aggression, and prevent war." Moscow rattled Russian President Vladimir Putin blames NATO for pushing Russia into invasion