Line of defence
Israel
Missiles<\/p>\n
The US\u2019s Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (Thaad) anti-ballistic missile system has proven as capable of attracting controversy as it has of bringing down warheads. In 2017, China pulled out of a trilateral summit with South Korea and Japan in protest at Seoul\u2019s plans to host a Thaad battery (the weapons were eventually deployed).<\/p>\n
A new deployment of the Thaad system to Israel \u2013 initially as part of a month-long drill \u2013 is likely to provoke comparable resentment among regional players. The Thaad system in question, from the US army\u2019s 11th Air Defence Artillery Brigade, joins an already formidable array of Israeli air-defence weapons, including the Israeli-built Iron Dome and David\u2019s Sling systems, and the joint Israeli-American Arrow. The question that\u2019s obviously prompted is what the Thaad can do that the others cannot.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s part of a multi-layered system,\u201d says Yossi Mekelberg, senior consulting research fellow with the Middle East and North Africa programme at Chatham House. \u201cFrom Israel\u2019s perspective, the battlefield has changed a lot. The problem is now mainly rockets and missiles: low-flying, high-flying, short-range, medium-range, long-range. And they can come from Gaza, from Hezbollah in Lebanon, or Hezbollah and Iran in Syria if they can establish themselves there, or from Iran directly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s air-defence needs are not in doubt: Hezbollah alone is estimated to have some 100,000 missiles stationed on Israel\u2019s northern border. But it\u2019s Iran that may be the intended audience for Thaad\u2019s arrival in Israel. \u201cIt\u2019s symbolic as well as practical,\u201d says Mekelberg. \u201cIf it was purely practical you wouldn\u2019t have to announce it. It\u2019s a direct message to Iran that the US is behind Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n
It also seems a direct message to Iran\u2019s other regional rivals \u2013 and, therefore,Thaad\u2019s potential market. Thaad has already been sold to the UAE; deals are also in progress with Oman and Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n
Protection plan
Germany
Aircraft<\/p>\n
The German ministry of defence is upgrading its military planes with newer models. Though both Airbus and Boeing are competing for the \u20ac10bn order, Airbus is expecting a large part of it \u2013 and has already won an order from the government for three new jets. Another generous order from the Germans will give the company\u2019s military branch a welcome financial boost at a crucial time.<\/p>\n
In February, Airbus agreed to build next-generation military aircraft together with French-based Dassault as part of a deal struck between Germany and France aimed at strengthening European defence independently of Nato. \u201cIf Airbus\u2019s military division is struggling then this endangers its co-operation with Dassault,\u201d says Torben Sch\u00fctz of the German Council on Foreign Relations. \u201cThis contract from the German government is quite crucial.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the basket 02<\/p>\n
Deep dive<\/p>\n
Who\u2019s buying and who\u2019s selling? We keep you abreast of the most significant recent defence deals.<\/p>\n
In the basket: 1 Akula-class nuclear-powered submarine
Who\u2019s buying: India
Who\u2019s selling: Russia
Price: $3bn (\u20ac2.7bn) for a 10-year lease
Delivery date: By 2025<\/p>\n
This will be the third nuclear-powered submarine that India has leased from Russia. The first, INS Chakra, is already in service; the second is due for delivery by 2021. International treaties will preclude the new vessel \u2013 INS Chakra III \u2013 from carrying nuclear weapons, however. But India\u2019s home-built INS Arihant, and the soon-to-be-commissioned INS Arighat, do have such capacity.<\/p>\n
All at sea<\/p>\n
Canada
Navy<\/p>\n
Canada\u2019s inability to procure a fleet of brand new fighter jets has been well publicised but it\u2019s the armed forces\u2019 failure to recruit human talent that could really cause problems. While the airforce is short of pilots and mechanics, a dearth of sailors is plaguing the navy. Commodore Steve Waddell is director-general of naval strategic readiness and says that, at any given time, it\u2019s anywhere from 10 to 40 per cent short of its sailor target, largely due to on-shore opportunities and low unemployment.<\/p>\n
But the navy better get creative about recruiting. A pillar of Justin Trudeau\u2019s 2017 defence policy was to ensure that the military can operate multiple missions at once \u2013 and it\u2019ll be hard pressed to achieve that goal if it can\u2019t bring more sailors onboard.<\/p>\n
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