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Chapter Two: Comparative defence statistics

To cite this article: (2018) Chapter Two: Comparative defence statistics, The Military Balance,118:1, 19-26, DOI: 10.1080/04597222.2018.1416969

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Chapter Two

Comparative defence statisticsTop 15 defence budgets 2017† US$bn

2017 top 15 defence and security budgets as a % of GDP*

* Analysis only includes countries for which suf�cient comparable data is available. Notable exceptions include Cuba, Eritrea, Libya, North Korea, Qatar, Syria and the UAE

† At current prices and exchange rates

†Figures do not sum due to rounding effects

UnitedStates

Othertop 15

countries

Restof theworld

US$bn1. United States

602.8

2. China

150.5

7. France

48.6

5. India

52.5

4. Russiaa

61.2

8. Japan

46.0

11. Brazil

29.4

12. Australia

25.0

13. Italy

22.9

14. Israelb

21.6

15. Iraq

19.4

10. South Korea

35.7

9. Germany

41.7

6. United Kingdom

50.7

3. Saudi Arabia

76.7

a Under NATO defence-spending de�nition; b Includes US Foreign Military AssistanceNote: US dollar totals are calculated using average market exchange rates for 2017, derived using IMF data. The relative position of countries will vary not only as a result of actual adjustments in defence-spending levels, but also due to exchange-rate �uctuations between domestic currencies and the US dollar. The use of average exchange rates reduces these �uctuations, but the effects of such movements can be signi�cant in a number of cases.

Israel

6.2%

Jordan

4.9%

Mali

4.3%

Azerbaijan

4.0%

Bahrain

4.4%

Russia

4.2%

Algeria

5.7%

Oman

12.1%

Iraq

10.1%

Iran

3.7%

Kuwait

4.8%

SaudiArabia

11.3%

Republicof Congo

6.2%

Armenia

3.9%

Afghanistan

10.3%

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

©IISS

©IISS

©IISS

North America39.3%

Europe16.3%

Russia and Eurasia4.3%

Asia andAustralasia

24.0%

Middle East andNorth Africa

10.9%

Latin America and the Caribbean

4.0%Sub-Saharan Africa

1.1% Sub-Saharan Africa1.1%

United States38.2%

United Kingdom, 3.2%

France, 3.1%Germany

2.6%Other NATO

7.2%

Non-NATO Europe, 1.2%

China, 9.5%

Japan, 2.9%India, 3.3%

South Korea, 2.3%

Other Asia, 6.0%

Russia, 3.9%Other Eurasia, 0.4%

Saudi Arabia, 4.9%

Other Middle Eastand North Africa, 6.0%

Latin America and the Caribbean, 4.0%

Planned defence expenditure by country 2017†Planned global defence expenditure by region 2017†

20 THE MILITARY BALANCE 2018

Saudi Arabia,34.3%

Kuwait, 2.5%Other MENA, 3.63% Algeria, 4.8%

Europe, 1.49%

Russia, 14.7%

Afghanistan, 2.2%

Other Latin America, 2.33%

Other Eurasia,0.79%

Israel, 8.4%

Oman, 4.6%

Mexico, 3.1%

Other Asia, 5.24%

Sub-Saharan Africa, 5.77%

United States, 3.2%

Malaysia, 2.9%

Composition of real defence-spending increases 2016–17‡

Composition of real defence-spending reductions 2016–17‡

‡ At constant 2010 prices and exchange rates.

Total reductions2016–17:‡

US$26.1bn

† At current prices and exchange rates.

Brazil, 10.1%China, 24.8%

Romania,4.8%

Netherlands,3.1%

Other Latin America, 3.44%

Indonesia,5.8%

Japan, 3.6%

Germany, 11.3%Spain,8.4%

India, 2.4%

France, 2.4%

Other Asia,5.5%

Other Europe &Canada, 11.1%

Middle East andNorth Africa, 0.94%

Eurasia, 0.47%

Sub-Saharan Africa, 1.79%

Total increases2016–17:‡

US$25.4bn

-8

-4

0

4

8

12

16

Real global defence-spending changes by region 2015–17

Selected European defence research and development (R&D) budgets in 2017 and planned European Union defence R&D spending

LatinAmerica and

the Caribbean

Sub-SaharanAfrica

Global**NorthAmerica

Europe Russia andEurasia*

Asia

2015

2016

2017

* Excludes states for which suf�cient data is unavailable (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan)** Excludes states for which suf�cient data is unavailable

%

France (est.)

United Kingdom (est.)

Germany

EU post-202

0

Turkey (e

st.)

Slovakia (est.)

Spain

Sweden (est.)

Poland

Netherlands (e

st.)

Italy (

est.)

Finland

Norway

Czech Republic

Belgium

BulgariaAustr

ia

Romania

Denmark

Estonia

Hungary

Portugal

Luxembourg (est.)

Croatia (est.)Cyprus

Greece

Ireland

Latvia

Lithuania

Malta

00000000.10.10.10.10.10.70.80.70.80.9

12.411.4

5.2

3.1

8.0

0.4

1.41.5

0.20.2 000

1

2

3

4

5

6

R&D US$bn % of R&D in total budget

In June 2017, the European Commission announced the creation of a European Defence Fund (EDF). This package includes a ‘research window’ which, if voted for, is expected to begin post-2020 through a dedicated EU programme under the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). The estimated budget will be €500m (US$564m) per annum throughout the MFF covering the years 2021–27. If this plan is implemented, the European Commission will become the fourth-biggest defence R&D spender in Europe, after France, the United Kingdom and Germany.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

R&D

budg

et, c

urre

nt U

S$bn

% of R&

D in total defence spending

©IISS

21Comparative defence statistics

Armed unmanned aerial vehicles: production and procurement

Sele

cted

com

bat-

capa

ble

UAV

s an

d m

anuf

actu

rers

CH-3

– C

hina

Aer

ospa

ce

Scie

nce

and

Tech

nolo

gy

Corp

. (CA

SC)

CH-4

- Ch

ina

Aero

spac

e Sc

ienc

e an

d Te

chno

logy

Co

rp. (

CASC

)

Shah

ed 1

29 –

Aer

ospa

ce

Indu

strie

s Or

gani

zatio

n

MQ

-9 R

eape

r – G

ener

al

Atom

ics

Aero

naut

ical

Sy

stem

s In

c.

(GA-

ASI)

Stat

es c

urre

ntly

pro

duci

ng a

nd

oper

atin

g ar

med

UAV

s: C

hina

, Ira

n,

Isra

el, T

urke

y, U

nite

d St

ates

Stat

es th

at h

ave

acqu

ired

arm

ed

UAVs

: Egy

pt, I

raq,

Kaz

akhs

tan,

M

yanm

ar, N

iger

ia, P

akis

tan,

Sau

di

Arab

ia, T

urkm

enis

tan,

Uni

ted

Arab

Em

irate

s, U

nite

d Ki

ngdo

mSt

ates

that

hav

e ac

quire

d US

UAV

s an

d ha

ve b

een

give

n US

app

rova

l to

arm

them

: Fra

nce,

Ital

ySt

ates

that

cur

rent

ly h

ave

deve

lopm

ent p

rogr

amm

es fo

r arm

ed

UAVs

: Ind

ia, R

ussi

a, S

outh

Afri

ca

CHIN

A

US

Russ

ia: I

nokh

odet

s Pr

ime

deve

lope

r: Kr

onst

adt T

echn

olog

ies

Indi

a: R

usto

m

Prim

e de

velo

per:

Defe

nce

Rese

arch

and

De

velo

pmen

t Or

gani

satio

n (D

RDO)

Sout

h A

fric

a:

Seek

er 4

00

Prim

e de

velo

per:

Dene

l

Arm

ed U

AV s

ales

UAVs

app

rove

d to

be

arm

ed a

fter d

eliv

ery

In re

cent

yea

rs, a

rmed

unm

anne

d ae

rial

veh

icle

s (U

AVs

) hav

e pr

olife

rate

d, d

espi

te U

S eff

orts

to li

mit

thei

r sal

e. D

omes

tic d

evel

opm

ents

, and

impo

rts,

hav

e pr

ovid

ed

an in

crea

sing

num

ber

of c

ount

ries

with

the

abili

ty to

ope

rate

wea

poni

sed

syst

ems.

The

mos

t sig

nific

ant p

rodu

cers

of

arm

ed U

AVs

are

the

US

and

Chi

na. T

he U

S,

how

ever

, has

so

far p

ursu

ed a

cau

tious

app

roac

h to

the

expo

rt o

f arm

ed s

yste

ms,

whi

le C

hina

has

bee

n le

ss re

stra

ined

. The

US

has

supp

lied

the

arm

ed v

aria

nt o

f the

M

Q-9

Rea

per

to th

e U

nite

d K

ingd

om, a

clo

se a

lly, b

ut d

eclin

ed to

do

so to

oth

er p

artn

ers

such

as

Saud

i Ara

bia.

Chi

na h

as g

rasp

ed th

is o

ppor

tuni

ty, a

nd h

as n

ow

supp

lied

arm

ed U

AVs

to a

num

ber o

f cou

ntri

es, i

nclu

ding

Egy

pt, N

iger

ia, P

akis

tan,

Sau

di A

rabi

a an

d th

e U

nite

d A

rab

Emir

ates

, am

ong

othe

rs. T

he in

crea

sed

inte

rest

in

suc

h sy

stem

s ha

s al

so le

d ot

her s

tate

s to

pur

sue

thei

r ow

n pr

ogra

mm

es (R

ussi

a, Ir

an, I

ndia

and

Sou

th A

fric

a, fo

r exa

mpl

e) o

r to

cons

ider

arm

ing

syst

ems

alre

ady

in

serv

ice.

Isra

el o

pera

tes a

var

iety

of a

rmed

UA

Vs, b

ut a

s yet

ther

e ar

e no

iden

tified

exp

orts

of s

uch

syst

ems,

alth

ough

Isra

el h

as w

idel

y ex

port

ed in

telli

genc

e, su

rvei

llanc

e an

d re

conn

aiss

ance

UA

Vs.

© IIS

S

22 THE MILITARY BALANCE 2018

Key defence statistics

© IISS

Main battle tanks(1,000 per unit)

Armoured infantry fighting vehicles(1,000 per unit)

Tactical aircraft (500 per unit)

Attack helicopters(250 per unit)

Heavy/medium transport helicopters(500 per unit)

6,740200

3,097

3,090

227

2,831

3,860

629

2,500

6,160

623

3,336

3,424

198272

785

1,1121,966

383

50

793

376

19

62

246

168

67

375

108 2,645

Artillery (1,000 per unit)

262

9,684

13,420

5,293

637

6,894

Cruisers, destroyers and frigates(25 per unit)

Attack/guided missile submarines(25 per unit)

Principal amphibious ships(25 per unit)

Tanker and multi-role tanker/transport aircraft(100 per unit)

Airborne early-warning and control aircraft(100 per unit)

82

22

27

19

96

54

33

57

6

14

6

49

4

3

1

6

31

Heavy/medium transport aircraft(100 per unit)

Heavy/medium transport aircraft(100 per unit)

27 7 4 18 6 111

15 10 Some 1013

628

18 14 6 15 1484 46 36 177 44

530658

Heavy unmanned aerial vehicles(50 per unit)

China France India Russia UK US

510,000

32,300

1,155,000

2,000,00082,650

857,950

2,035,000202,700

1,395,100

900,000

150,250

1,348,400

Aircraft carriers (10 per unit)1111 11

4 4 13 4 14

139

157

162

ICBM (Launchers) (25 per unit) Bomber aircraft (25 per unit)

Ballistic-missile nuclear-powered submarines (10 per unit)

400

70

313

Active personnel (100,000 per unit)Active personnel (100,000 per unit) Reserve personnel (100,000 per unit)

23Comparative defence statistics

© IISS

Main battle tanks(1,000 per unit)

Armoured infantry fighting vehicles(1,000 per unit)

Tactical aircraft (500 per unit)

Attack helicopters(250 per unit)

Heavy/medium transport helicopters(500 per unit)

6,740200

3,097

3,090

227

2,831

3,860

629

2,500

6,160

623

3,336

3,424

198272

785

1,1121,966

383

50

793

376

19

62

246

168

67

375

108 2,645

Artillery (1,000 per unit)

262

9,684

13,420

5,293

637

6,894

Cruisers, destroyers and frigates(25 per unit)

Attack/guided missile submarines(25 per unit)

Principal amphibious ships(25 per unit)

Tanker and multi-role tanker/transport aircraft(100 per unit)

Airborne early-warning and control aircraft(100 per unit)

82

22

27

19

96

54

33

57

6

14

6

49

4

3

1

6

31

Heavy/medium transport aircraft(100 per unit)

Heavy/medium transport aircraft(100 per unit)

27 7 4 18 6 111

15 10 Some 1013

628

18 14 6 15 1484 46 36 177 44

530658

Heavy unmanned aerial vehicles(50 per unit)

China France India Russia UK US

510,000

32,300

1,155,000

2,000,00082,650

857,950

2,035,000202,700

1,395,100

900,000

150,250

1,348,400

Aircraft carriers (10 per unit)1111 11

4 4 13 4 14

139

157

162

ICBM (Launchers) (25 per unit) Bomber aircraft (25 per unit)

Ballistic-missile nuclear-powered submarines (10 per unit)

400

70

313

Active personnel (100,000 per unit)Active personnel (100,000 per unit) Reserve personnel (100,000 per unit)

24 THE MILITARY BALANCE 2018

China: People’s Liberation Army main battle tanks

Firs

t gen

erat

ion

PLA

mai

n ba

ttle

tank

�ee

t, 19

97–2

017

Seco

nd g

ener

atio

n

1997

2002

2007

2012

2017 ZT

Z-99

ZTZ-

99A

Thir

d ge

nera

tion

Firs

t gen

erat

ion

Seco

nd g

ener

atio

nTh

ird g

ener

atio

n

For t

he p

urpo

ses

of th

is a

naly

sis,

gen

erat

iona

l sta

tus

of e

ach

desi

gn is

as

belo

w.

ZTZ-

59/Z

TZ-5

9-II/

ZTZ-

59D

• Lic

ense

bui

lt T-

54 d

esig

n• I

n pr

oduc

tion

1958

–78

• Upg

rade

d ve

rsio

ns d

evel

oped

in

the

1980

s• 1

00m

m s

moo

thbo

re m

ain

gun

(105

mm

rifle

d in

59-

II an

d 59

D)• 3

6 to

nnes

com

bat w

eigh

t• S

teel

arm

our (

reac

tive

59D

only

)• C

ompu

ter fi

re-c

ontro

l (59

D on

ly)

ZTZ-

79

• In

prod

uctio

n 19

78–8

0s

• 105

mm

rifle

d m

ain

gun

• 37

tonn

es c

omba

t wei

ght

• Ste

el a

rmou

r

ZTZ-

88A

/ZTZ

-88B

• In

prod

uctio

n 19

88–9

0s

• 105

mm

rifle

d m

ain

gun

• 38

tonn

es c

omba

t wei

ght

• Ste

el a

rmou

r

• Sta

bilis

ed s

ight

s

ZTZ-

96/Z

TZ-9

6A

• In

prod

uctio

n 19

97–2

005

• 125

mm

sm

ooth

bore

mai

n gu

n

• 42+

tonn

es c

omba

t wei

ght

• Ste

el/c

ompo

site

arm

our

(reac

tive

96A)

• Sta

bilis

ed s

ight

s

• Rep

orte

dly

bein

g up

grad

ed to

ZT

Z-96

B st

anda

rd fr

om 2

017

ZTZ-

99/Z

TZ-9

9A

• Cur

rent

ly in

pro

duct

ion

• 125

mm

sm

ooth

bore

mai

n gu

n

• 50+

tonn

es c

omba

t wei

ght

• Ste

el/c

ompo

site

/reac

tive

arm

our

• Sta

bilis

ed s

ight

s

• Com

pute

r fire

-con

trol s

yste

m

• Act

ive-

prot

ectio

n sy

stem

(99A

)

0

1,00

0

2,00

0

3,00

0

4,00

0

5,00

0

6,00

0

7,00

0

8,00

0

1,60

0

6,20

0

5,00

05,

000

4,60

0

3,39

0

500

2,85

0

800

2,30

0

1,30

0

1,28

0

1,50

0

510

Alth

ough

Rus

sia

and

the

Uni

ted

Stat

es b

oth

mai

ntai

n su

bsta

ntia

l num

bers

of m

ain

battl

e ta

nks

in s

tore

, C

hina

’s P

eopl

e’s

Libe

ratio

n A

rmy

(PLA

) cu

rren

tly h

as t

he

wor

ld’s

larg

est a

ctiv

e-se

rvic

e ta

nk fl

eet.

The

volu

me

and

cost

invo

lved

in p

rodu

cing

su

ffici

ent

mod

ern

tank

des

igns

to

equi

p th

is f

orce

has

, how

ever

, pro

ved

to b

e a

sign

ifica

nt c

halle

nge

for

the

PLA

, and

it is

onl

y re

cent

ly th

at th

e pe

rcen

tage

of t

he

tank

forc

e so

-equ

ippe

d ha

s ri

sen

abov

e 50

%.

The

orig

inal

ZTZ

-59

rem

ains

in s

ervi

ce w

ith a

sig

nific

ant p

ropo

rtio

n of

the

PLA

, de

spite

bei

ng e

ffect

ivel

y ob

sole

te, e

ven

in i

ts u

pgra

ded

form

s. E

arly

ind

igen

ous

Chi

nese

tank

des

igns

, suc

h as

the

ZTZ-

79 a

nd Z

TZ-8

8, h

ad li

mite

d pr

oduc

tion

runs

an

d ar

e no

w o

nly

in t

he i

nven

tory

of

a sm

all

num

ber

of u

nits

in

nort

hern

and

w

este

rn C

hina

. The

reo

rgan

isat

ion

of P

LA m

anoe

uvre

uni

ts i

nto

com

bine

d-ar

ms

brig

ades

in 2

017

may

resu

lt in

thes

e se

cond

-gen

erat

ion

desi

gns b

eing

rem

oved

from

se

rvic

e al

toge

ther

as

the

over

all s

ize

of th

e PL

A’s

tank

flee

t shr

inks

aga

in.

The

late

st Z

TZ-9

9A a

ppea

rs to

hav

e be

en p

rodu

ced

in r

elat

ivel

y sm

all n

umbe

rs,

and

issu

ed to

str

ateg

ic-r

eser

ve u

nits

nea

r Be

ijing

, pos

sibl

y be

caus

e of

its

rela

tivel

y hi

gh c

ost.

The

maj

ority

of C

hina

’s th

ird-

gene

ratio

n ta

nks a

re st

ill v

ersi

ons o

f the

late

19

90s

ZTZ-

96 d

esig

n. T

he P

LA’s

new

‘lig

ht’

tank

, be

lieve

d to

hav

e en

tere

d pr

oduc

tion

with

the

ZTQ

-15

desi

gnat

ion,

wei

ghs

alm

ost a

s m

uch

as a

ZTZ

-59,

but

m

ay n

onet

hele

ss h

elp

fill t

he r

equi

rem

ent

for

mod

ern

arm

our

in s

outh

ern

Chi

na,

whe

re th

e te

rrai

n is

not

sui

tabl

e fo

r hea

vier

mod

ern

desi

gns

such

as

the

ZTZ-

99.

© IIS

S

25Comparative defence statistics

China: air-to-air missile progress

PL-1

0 im

agin

g in

frar

ed (I

IR) A

AM

In

-ser

vice

dat

e: c

2015

Asso

ciat

ed a

ircra

ft:

J-10

A/B/

C, J

-11B

, J-1

6, J

-20

PL-1

2 ac

tive

rada

r-gu

ided

AA

MIn

-ser

vice

dat

e: 2

007

Asso

ciat

ed a

ircra

ft:

J-8,

J-1

0A/B

, J-1

1B

PL-1

5 ex

tend

ed-r

ange

act

ive

rada

r-gu

ided

AA

MIn

-ser

vice

dat

e: 2

018+

Asso

ciat

ed a

ircra

ft:

J-10

C, J

-16,

J-2

0

PL-X

X ac

tive

rada

r and

infr

ared

-gui

ded

very

-lon

g-ra

nge

AA

MIn

-ser

vice

dat

e: 2

020+

Asso

ciat

ed a

ircra

ft: J

-16

PL-X

X Ra

mje

t A*

PL-X

X Ra

mje

t B*

*In

deve

lopm

ent

Leng

th: c

. 3 m

etre

s

Leng

th: c

. 3.8

met

res

Leng

th: c

. 4 m

etre

s

Leng

th:

c. 6

met

res

Leng

th:

c. 4

met

res

PL-1

0 IIR

AAM

� 3

0km

� A

ll ta

rget

s

PL-X

X ve

ry-lo

ng-r

ange

AAM

� 4

00km

+�

Lar

ge, n

on-m

anoe

uvrin

g ta

rget

s

PL-1

5 an

d PL

-XX

ram

jet-p

ower

edac

tive-

rada

r AAM

s�

150

km�

All

targ

ets

PL-1

2 ac

tive-

rada

r AAM

� 7

0km

� A

ll ta

rget

s

Not

iona

l PL-

XX v

ery-

long

-ran

ge A

AM

eng

agem

ent

Max

imum

not

iona

l eng

agem

ent r

ange

s

25,0

00ft

50,0

00ft

100,

000f

tPo

ssib

le m

id-c

ours

e up

date

sdu

ring

mis

sile

�y-

out

Initi

al ta

rget

-trac

kda

ta a

nd u

pdat

es v

ia K

J-20

00 A

WAC

S ai

rcra

ft

Term

inal

-eng

agem

ent

seek

er:

� A

ctiv

e ra

dar:

40km

� In

frare

d: 1

0–20

km

PL-X

X m

axim

um k

inem

atic

rang

e po

tent

ially

400

km+

In 2

015,

the

Peop

le’s

Lib

erat

ion

Arm

y A

ir F

orce

(PLA

AF)

intr

oduc

ed th

e PL

-10

imag

ing

infr

ared

-gui

ded

shor

t-ran

ge a

ir-to

-air

mis

sile

(AA

M) i

nto

serv

ice.

It c

ould

be

follo

wed

in 2

018

by th

e PL

-15

exte

nded

-ran

ge a

ctiv

e ra

dar-

guid

ed m

issi

le. F

urth

erm

ore

Chi

na m

ay h

ave

at le

ast t

hree

oth

er m

ediu

m a

nd v

ery-

long

-ran

ge A

AM

s in

va

riou

s st

ages

of

deve

lopm

ent.

Chi

na is

in t

he m

idst

of

a ne

ar-u

npre

cede

nted

sca

le a

nd p

ace

of d

evel

opm

ent

that

will

impr

ove

cons

ider

ably

its

air-

to-a

ir w

eapo

ns

inve

ntor

y, a

nd p

rovi

de th

e de

fenc

e in

dust

ry w

ith in

crea

sing

ly c

redi

ble

prod

ucts

for t

he e

xpor

t mar

ket.

The

PL-1

0 w

as a

dver

tised

for e

xpor

t ver

y sh

ortly

afte

r its

ent

ry

into

ser

vice

with

the

PLA

AF.

© IIS

S

26 THE MILITARY BALANCE 2018

Selected Chinese and Asia-Pacific regional naval shipbuilding since 2000

JAPA

N

CH

INA

RU

SS

IA

INDI

A

TAIW

AN

SOUT

HKO

REA

NOR

THKO

REA

No.

Sh

ipya

rd

Type

La

unch

ed

(2

000–

Aug

201

7)

Bo

hai S

hipb

uild

ing

SS

BN

4

He

avy

Indu

stry

SS

N

6

Da

lian

Ship

build

ing

CV

1

In

dust

ry C

ompa

ny

DD

5

Da

lian

Liao

ning

FS

9

Sh

ipya

rd

Ji

angn

an S

hipy

ard

SSK

4

C

1

D

D

18

Hu

dong

-Zho

nghu

a

FF

14

Ship

build

ing

FS

12

LP

D

5

A

ORH

2

W

ucha

ng S

hipb

uild

ing

SS

K 24

In

dust

ry G

roup

FS

9

Hu

angp

u W

ench

ong

FF

17

Sh

ipbu

ildin

g FS

13

AO

EH

1

A

ORH

6

Coun

try

Type

La

unch

ed

(2

000–

Aug

201

7)

Indi

a

SSB

N

1

SS

K 2

CV

1

D

D

8

FF

10

FS

1

A

ORH

2

SSB

N =

4SS

N =

6SS

K =

28

CV =

1C

= 1

DD

= 2

3

AO

EH =

1A

ORH

= 8

FF =

31

FS =

43

LPD

= 5

Coun

try

Type

La

unch

ed

(2

000–

Aug

201

7)

Japa

n SS

K 16

CV

4

C

2

D

D

12

LH

D

2

A

OE

2

Coun

try

Type

La

unch

ed

(2

000–

Aug

201

7)

Kore

a,

SSK

9Re

publ

ic o

f C

3

D

D

6

FF

10

FS

17

LP

D

4

A

OEH

1

0

50,0

00

100,

000

150,

000

200,

000

250,

000

300,

000

350,

000

400,

000

Japa

n

Sout

h Ko

rea

Indi

a

US Chin

a

2015

–17

2012

–14

2009

–11

2006

–08

2003

–05

2000

–02

App

roxi

mat

e fu

ll lo

ad d

ispl

acem

ent (

tonn

es) o

f sel

ecte

d la

unch

ed n

aval

ves

sels

Chi

na’s

nav

al-s

hipb

uild

ing

outp

ut si

nce

2000

has

bee

n re

mar

kabl

e bo

th fo

r its

scal

e an

d br

eadt

h, w

ith a

n in

dust

rial

bas

e ce

ntre

d on

seve

n m

ajor

ship

yard

s. Fo

r som

e tim

e,

it ha

s bee

n en

gage

d in

con

side

rabl

e se

ries

pro

duct

ion

of la

rge

and

smal

l sur

face

com

bata

nts.

In th

e su

b-su

rfac

e ar

ena,

the

prod

uctio

n of

a to

tal o

f 38

new

uni

ts, i

nclu

ding

ba

llist

ic-m

issi

le s

ubm

arin

es, i

s al

so s

igni

fican

t. In

ter

ms

of s

ubm

arin

e, d

estr

oyer

, fri

gate

and

cor

ve�e

pro

duct

ion,

Chi

na h

as e

ither

exc

eede

d or

nea

rly

mat

ched

the

co

llect

ive

outp

uts o

f the

nex

t thr

ee p

rinc

ipal

regi

onal

nav

ies,

who

se o

wn

nava

l pro

gram

mes

hav

e the

mse

lves

bee

n si

gnifi

cant

by

glob

al st

anda

rds.

Chi

na h

as a

lso

prod

uced

ni

ne n

ew u

nder

-way

-rep

leni

shm

ent v

esse

ls a

nd it

has

laun

ched

its fi

rst h

ome-

built

air

craf

t car

rier

and

firs

t mod

ern

crui

ser,

fillin

g tw

o m

ajor

capa

bilit

y ga

ps. O

ver t

he ti

me

peri

od, t

he U

nite

d St

ates

has

bui

lt m

ore

carr

iers

(3),

nucl

ear-

a�ac

k su

bmar

ines

(14)

, des

troy

ers

(33)

and

larg

e am

phib

ious

shi

ps (1

5) th

an C

hina

, but

not

as

man

y sm

all

surf

ace

com

bata

nts.

Ther

e is

still

unc

erta

inty

ove

r how

robu

st C

hine

se w

arsh

ip d

esig

ns a

re re

lativ

e to

thei

r com

petit

ors,

as w

ell a

s the

ir sy

stem

s int

egra

tion

and

wea

pons

pe

rfor

man

ce. T

he c

ritic

al is

sue

now

is C

hina

’s a

bilit

y to

sust

ain

this

leve

l of o

utpu

t and

add

ress

wea

knes

ses,

such

as i

n su

bmar

ine

desi

gn a

nd a

mph

ibio

us c

apac

ity.

© IIS

S