US defence budget will equal ROW combined "within 12 months" - Jane's

US defence budget will equal ROW combined "within 12 months": "

By Guy Anderson Editor of Jane's Defence Industry

Defence expenditure in the US will equal that of the rest of the world combined within 12 months, making it 'increasingly pressing' for European contractors to develop a 'closer association' with the US, corporate finance group PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) says.

Its report - 'The Defence Industry in the 21st Century' by PwC's global aerospace and defence leader Richard Hooke - adds that 'the US is in the driving seat', raising the prospect of a future scenario in which it could 'dominate the supply of the world's arms completely'.

The US defence budget reached US$417.4 billion in 2003 - 46 per cent of the global total."