IISS – The Military Balance, 2024

The report to IISS - The Military Balance 2024 highlights the intensified threats to the rules-based order, leading to governments reassessing security priorities, defence spending, and equipment plans. The deteriorating security environment is shown through conflicts like the Hamas-Israel war, Russia's aggression against Ukraine, and Azerbaijan's takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh. It also discusses the impact on defence budgets and equipment inventories. The report covers Russia's loss of main battle tanks in the war with Ukraine, highlighting the trade-off between quality and quantity. The conflict has also led to a stalemate in fighting, prompting European countries to increase defence spending and strengthen NATO. There is a focus on the importance of maintaining and upgrading military equipment in the face of evolving threats. The introduction also mentions the growing use of uninhabited maritime vehicles (UMVs) in conflicts and China's advancements in upgrading its strategic forces. The report acknowledges the shift towards assessing qualitative factors like cyber capabilities and artificial intelligence in addition to traditional military forces and equipment.