Introduction
Global arms competition has entered a new, multi-domain phase. Over the past decade, states have increased both spending and capability modernization across nuclear, conventional long-range missiles, space, cyber, and emerging technologies (AI, hypersonic, and autonomous systems). World military expenditure reached an unprecedented US$2,718 billion in 2024, a 9.4 per cent year-on-year rise and 37 per cent increase since 2015, driven by spikes in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.[1] The competition is concentrated in the top five spenders (the U.S., China, Russia, Germany, India) accounted for roughly 60 per cent of global spending in 2024.[2] This brief maps the current global hotspots like ‘Indo-Pacific,’ Europe, South Asia, and the Middle East, identifies cross-cutting technological and political drivers, and assesses how these trends erode strategic stability.
