US military spending up as global outlay hits 31-year high

STUTTGART, Germany — The U.S. boosted military spending last year for the first time since 2010 while Russia’s defense budget declined for the second year, according to a new report that found global military investment at a post-Cold War high.

Military spending increased overall to $1.8 trillion worldwide in 2018, a 2.6% increase that put expenditures at their highest level since 1988, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute reported Monday.

The U.S. was by far the biggest spender with a 4.6% annual increase that added up to $649 billion — an amount nearly equal to the next eight largest defense budgets combined.

“The increase in U.S. spending was driven by the implementation from 2017 of new arms procurement programs under the Trump administration,” said Aude Fleurant, director of SIPRI’s military expenditure program.

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