Brazil MoD requests 63.7B Real for 2012

The Brazilian military has requested BRL63.7 billion (USD34.9 billion) for a 2012 defence budget that includes more than BRL8 billion (USD4.38 billion) in procurement funds, marking an 18 per cent increase in procurement on last year's budget.

The funding request must be approved by Congress, which traditionally changes or augments the budget.

In the 2012 budget Brazil's Ministry of Defence (MoD) would administer BRL900 million for its intra-service H-XBR medium-lift helicopter programme, which comprises local production of 50 EC 725s, as well as a new satellite communications system (SISCOMIS) valued at BRL7 million.

The Brazilian Air Force's (FAB's) request would fund the BRL544 million development of a multirole KC-390 tanker/transport, BRL309 million air surveillance and defence system (SISCEAB) and BRL716 million would pay for a number of comprehensive upgrade projects for its legacy aircraft fleets.

The FAB's budget request does not include any funding for the long-delayed F-X2 multirole fighter programme, which is an indication that a decision on the platform will likely be further postponed.

The Brazilian Navy's budget focuses mainly on its submarine infrastructure programme and includes BRL1.2 billion for a new submarine base. The navy is also seeking BRL930 million for continued work on its nuclear and conventional submarine fleets.

Other budget items include BRL73 million for the next phase of the NAPA-500 littoral patrol vessel and BRL65 million to begin the NAPA-1800 programme that is expected to see an existing offshore patrol vessel design selected in 2012. There is no mention of funding for the 11-ship Surface Warfare Programme.

Naval aviation would receive BRL222 million to fund comprehensive upgrades for 14 aircraft, including recently acquired C-1A Traders and long-serving AF-1 Skyhawks.

The army has requested BRL231 million for an initial 64 VBTP-MR Guarani 6x6 armoured personnel carriers, about BRL97 million for continued construction and equipment for its new border system (SISFRON), BRL55 million for light weapons and munitions and BRL90 million for the country's new cyber-defence centre.

France 2012 ups defense 1.6% to 31.7B Euro

PARIS - France increased its 2012 defense budget 1.6 percent to 31.7 billion euros ($43.1 billion) from 31.1 billion euros in 2011, helped by exceptional revenues of 1.1 billion euros from the sale of radio frequencies and property, the Defense Ministry said Sept. 29.
The headline equipment budget rose 3 percent to 16.5 billion euros from 16 billion euros, which includes maintenance and infrastructure. Some 10 billion euros have been earmarked for equipment procurement, said the financial affairs director for the secretary general.

The annual defense budget was 300 million euros short of the multiyear military budget law, but represented a "notable effort" given the financial difficulties, the official said.
Louis Gautier, international relations professor at Lyons University, said the budget was a notional one, a "trompe l'oeil," as presidential and parliamentary elections starting in May mean a new government will implement the budget. A government of right or left would likely "tighten the budgetary screws," he said.
A report on the 2011 defense budget by the French Senate finance committee, published October 2010, pointed to a likely funding gap of up to 36 billion euros by 2020, referring to missions in the 2008 defense white paper. An absence of exceptional revenues would cause the financial shortfall, the report said. The white paper is being updated, with the revised version to be published in 2012.

Germany 2012 Defense Spend to rise to EUR 31.7B (+133M)

BERLIN - German defense spending would rise to 31.7 billion euros ($44.5 billion), up 133 million euros, under a 306 billion-euro 2012 federal budget presented to Parliament on Sept. 7.
Thomas de Maizière said during the parliamentary debate Sept. 7 that the budget would shrink to 30.4 billion euros by 2015.

Personnel costs in 2012 would account for about 10.3 billion euros, less than one-third of the total and down nearly 1.7 billion from this year.
The budget includes 200 million euros to help recruit service members into a military that suspended conscription in July, de Maizière said.
"Germany needs combat-ready and serviceable armed forces, which in quality of equipment and training match the international significance and weight of our country," he said.
The secretary said he has reviewed ongoing procurement programs and will talk to industry, potentially to renegotiate existing contracts.
The 2012 budget contains 1.08 billion euros for Germany's current nine operations abroad, up 30 percent from this year's.
Now the accordant committees of the parliament and the Bundesrat, the parliament's upper house, will discuss the 2012 budget and case final ballots in December.

Finland 2012 Defense Budget Cut $130M

HELSINKI - Finland's Armed Force's Command (AFC) has proposed making significant cuts in peacetime strength and wartime mobilization levels, with defense chief Gen. Ari Puheloinen warning that low defense spending has forced the AFC to abandon plans to establish a Home Guard.
Proposals include reducing the length of military service as a cost-saving measure, rotating reservists out of forces earmarked for frontline service at a younger age, and reducing military exercises, training and refresher courses for reservists.

"These cutbacks will be necessary if we are to adapt to the level of funding in the future, and protect our defense capability," Puheloinen said.
The proposals are intended to accommodate a likely $130 million cut in its budget for 2012. Spending on defense in 2011 will run to $4.2 billion.
The AFC's cost-savings proposal includes the closure of some military bases by 2013. This will be done as part of the ongoing National Defense Reform Program, which will also see the introduction of a more centralized leadership structure and the discontinuation of the existing four Provincial Command military districts.
These measures will also force the AFC to reduce the number of professional soldiers across all ranks and will also lead to the layoff of administrative civilian personnel in the military.

$6.82B for Sweden Defense in 2012

Sweden's Ministry of Defense (MoD) has told the military chiefs to pursue greater economic efficiencies within all core military areas while Defense Minister Sten Tolgfors also announced a defense budget increase next year of $37.4 million. The increase will be largely generated by reducing funding to defense support areas such as research-and-development programs.
"We are adding an important increase to the military's budget for core operating activities, while savings will be made by buying more combat-ready weapons from abroad," Tolgfors said. The 2012 budget plan includes a provision to spend $1.36 billion on equipment and facilities procurement, the minister said.

Under the 2012 budget plan, the Swedish armed forces will receive core funding of $6 billion. This includes the $37.4 million increase. Moreover, a further $835 million has been allocated to defense support functions and services, including military intelligence, the State Defense Export Agency and crisis management planning. This brings the total 2012 defense budget to $6.82 billion.
The 2012 budget will provide more funding for training and exercises with a focus on international missions and deployment, as well as additional monies to core military units under the ongoing Military Reform Program.
The goal is to create practical, available modular combat units, complete with air and naval support if necessary, that can be mobilized and deployed at short notice.
The budget increase happens against a backdrop where the Swedish government is forecasting the country's GDP will decline from 4.8 percent in the current year to 1.5 percent in 2012.
Furthermore, the surplus in Sweden's public finances will be wiped out next year because of a downturn in exports, the general global economy and capital investment. Defense is one of the few areas that will see an actual increase spending in 2012.

Slovakia to get rid of tanks

BRATISLAVA - Slovakia's National Security Council has agreed to Ministry of Defense proposals for a new Strategic Defense Review (SDR) that calls on the armed forces to retire their remaining tank fleet. Under the outlines of the SDR, the Slovak armed forces will retain their fleet of MiG-29 jet fighters but suspend use of the T-72 main battle tank. The Slovak Army has 245 of these tanks in its inventory, which were manufactured between 1984 and 1989.
Three models have been proposed for the future Slovak armed forces under the SDR. One would see the defense budget stabilized at 1.5 percent of GDP in order to maintain the armed forces in their current 21,000-strong state. Another would lock the annual defense appropriation at the equivalent of 1.1 percent of GDP, with either the Air Force or Army sacrificing troops to bring the total size of the armed forces down to 16,000. The final proposal calls for continual decreases in defense spending - an untenable proposition for the armed forces, as they already spend 86 percent of their annual appropriation on personnel, leaving equipment to atrophy to the point of obsolescence.
The MoD proposals are to be submitted to the government Cabinet for approval. Slovakia's 2011 defense budget of EUR740 million ($1.04 billion) is roughly equal to 1.2 percent of GDP.

Czech Defense BUdget proposed at CZK 41.5B ($2.38B) - down 5.3%

NEWTOWN, Conn. - The Czech Republic faces further defense spending reductions as a sluggish economic recovery and the austerity measures of a center-right government combine to place pressure on the armed forces. Defense Minister Alexandr Vondra is warning that further cuts to defense imperil the armed forces, which have seen overall spending drop by CZK12 billion ($689 million), or 20 percent, over the past two years.
The Czech Finance Ministry continues to see defense as an area ripe for savings. It has proposed slicing some CZK2.3 billion ($132 million) from the defense budget in 2012, bringing it down to CZK41.5 billion ($2.38 billion). If such a proposal follows through, the level of Czech investment toward defense would plummet from the current 1.15 percent of GDP to below 1.0 percent. The center-right coalition government of Petr Necas seeks to halve the country's budget deficit by 2013; as part of its plan to do this, defense allocations were to be reduced to 1.03 percent of GDP by that year. The Finance Ministry - aware of the corruption inside the Defense Ministry in the past - seems eager to expedite the government's austerity push, which is intended to put the Czech Republic on a path toward accession into the euro-currency zone.
Defense, meanwhile, is fighting a rearguard action against further cuts, arguing that soldiers are leaving the ranks due to the lack of the most basic needs and the imposition of taxes on their retirement pensions and housing allowances. Defense Minister Vondra has pledged to maintain soldiers' salaries, sparing them from budgetary cutbacks. But by doing so, he merely increases the percentage of monies allocated toward personnel rather than equipment modernization programs. Due to the austerity measures, the military is already ceasing operation of 12 Mi-24/35 and four W-3A Sokol helicopters, as well as one Canadair Challenger 601 VIP aircraft. Also, missile troops are being stood down.
Despite having pledged to meet the NATO minimum standard level of investment - 2 percent of annual GDP allocated toward defense - upon its entry into the Alliance in 1999, the Czech Republic is falling farther and further away from its obligations. Like its former partner, Slovakia, the Czech Republic is in danger of becoming a net dependent upon the Alliance for security, rather than a contributor.
Rallying public support for the military is not an option as, in the case of many European nations, matters of defense generally stoke indifference in the population-at-large - unless related to wasteful spending practices. Government support for defense carries with it political implications, too. Scandals such as mafia involvement in unnecessary and costly construction projects for the Defense Ministry in the 1990s, followed by corrupt procurement practices by a lobby of armaments middlemen, have siphoned away any lingering trust in the competencies and practices inside the Defense Ministry. The overpriced purchase of 107 Pandur II 8x8 wheeled armored personnel carriers represents just the latest in a series of politicized controversial procurement efforts by the Czech Defense Ministry.
While still needing to replace much of its Soviet- and Warsaw Pact-legacy hardware, the Czech military continues to face cutbacks to personnel, bases, and procurement programs, all of which expose the Army of the Czech Republic's goal of achieving full operational capability by 2012 to delays. The military is expected to stop purchasing some spare parts and services, and to buy less ammunition and defense equipment. The withdrawal of the last remaining troops deployed to Kosovo and the gradual drawdown of forces in Afghanistan starting next year may help to alleviate some of the fiscal pressures on defense, but the reality is an atrophying military on life support.
Perhaps now would be the time for the Czech Republic and Slovakia to examine some of the cooperative practices undertaken by the Scandinavian nations under the Nordic Defense Cooperation concept. Shared production and procurement of ammunition and other munitions, joint officer training, pooled maintenance facilities - all of these offer potential areas of cooperation. For the respective defense ministries of the two countries, finding efficiencies during a time of austerity is the best bet for salvaging what remains of their withering armies.