ABSTRACT
The Asia-Pacific is a leading consumer of arms. Increasingly, some of the most modern and most advanced armaments are finding their way into the inventories of Asian militaries. As a result, many Asian-Pacific militaries have experienced a significant, if not unprecedented, build-up over past several years, both in terms of quantity and quality. In an arc stretching from Japan to India, regional armed forces have been adding new capabilities for war-fighting, and therefore the capacities for new military roles and missions. Local navies have acquired advanced warships, operating both on the surface and under the seas, that provide the potential for force projection and expeditionary operations. Regional air forces have purchased modern combat aircraft, many armed for the first time with weaponry providing the capacity to engage in air-to-air combat beyond visual range, as well as undertaking precision-guided air-to-ground missions. Ground forces, meanwhile, have acquired new weapons systems, ordnance, and military equipment that greatly increase their firepower, lethality, and mobility. Finally, regional militaries are gaining both the hardware and the software needed to improve their capacities for surveillance, reconnaissance, target acquisition, and command and control.
