Global Defense Spending Hits Record $2.887T, Lifting K-Defense's Demand Ceiling | April 28, 2026

Investment Implications

Europe Pushed K-Defense's Ceiling Higher — Again

SIPRI announced today that 2025 global military spending hit $2.887 trillion, rising for the 11th consecutive year. Europe spent $864 billion (+14%), China $336 billion (+7.4%), and the share of GDP climbed to 2.5% — the highest reading since 2009. The ceiling on the market K-Defense can address just got pushed higher again.

If our April 23 insight looked at K-Defense from the supply side — order backlogs and localization progress — today's SIPRI release puts numbers on how much bigger the demand pool itself has become. The headline 2.9% growth to $2.887 trillion looks modest, but the 2.5% share of GDP is the highest reading since 2009 — a signal that the global economy is reallocating toward security.

Europe's 14% jump to $864 billion isn't a one-off adjustment; it reads as the first year that NATO's 5%-by-2035 target — first reported by BBC in February — is showing up in actual budget books. In the same vein, Foreign Affairs flagged Germany's path to $189 billion annually by 2029 and Japan's confirmed move above 2% of GDP, while Munich Security Report 2026 documented Korea climbing from 2.3% to 3.5% and Taiwan from 3.3% to 5%. These are all multi-year plans pointing the same way, and once you add Europe's $70 billion Ukraine support burden reported by Al Jazeera, Europe is staring down a five-year stretch of modernizing its own forces and replenishing the eastern front simultaneously. China's 7.4% rise to $336 billion strengthens the case for further Indo-Pacific increases, hardening a second demand axis.

Where these expanded budgets are headed — across both short-cycle consumables and long-cycle platforms — is proven production capacity inside non-Chinese supply chains. That's where Korean ground-weapons and ammunition makers have the clearest order visibility.

Key Developments

Technology

Google to Build Its First Non-US AI Campus in Seoul

South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT and Google signed a memorandum of understanding on April 27 to cooperate on building an AI campus in Seoul. Kim Yong-beom, a presidential policy adviser, said the campus will be Google's first AI campus outside the United States (Source: Nikkei Asia).

Global IT Spending Forecast Lifted from $6.15T to $6.31T in Two Months

Gartner's global IT spending forecast climbed from $6.15 trillion in February to $6.31 trillion two months later, with the report attributing almost the entire upward revision to AI (Source: Economic Times India).

China's WeRide and Lenovo Plan to Deploy 200,000 Robotaxis Globally Over Five Years

Chinese tech firms WeRide and Lenovo announced on April 27 that they will expand their partnership to deploy 200,000 autonomous vehicles worldwide over the next five years (Source: Economic Times India).

Meta Signs First Capacity Reservation Deal with Space Solar Firm for Up to 1GW

Meta's data center electricity consumption exceeded 18,000 GWh in 2024 — equivalent to the annual power use of 1.7 million American households. The company has now signed its first capacity reservation contract with Overview, a space-launched solar power firm, for up to 1GW of supply (whether funds have moved is unclear) (Source: TechCrunch).

Japan Pursues World's Largest Floating Offshore Wind Farm Near Izu Islands

Japan is pushing to build a gigawatt-scale floating wind farm in waters near the Izu Islands. Once complete, it would be the world's largest floating wind farm — directly supporting Japan's 2040 target of 45 GW of offshore wind capacity (Source: South China Morning Post).

Chinese Optical Fiber Manufacturing Profits Jump 336.8%, Driven by AI and Chip Demand

According to China's National Bureau of Statistics, the rapid expansion of AI and semiconductor industries pushed profits in optical fiber manufacturing up 336.8%, optoelectronic devices up 43%, and displays up 36.3% (Source: South China Morning Post).

Samsung SDS and LG CNS Secure South Korea Reseller Rights for OpenAI's ChatGPT Edu

Samsung SDS and LG CNS announced on April 27 that they have each secured reseller rights for ChatGPT Edu in South Korea through their partnerships with OpenAI (Source: Yonhap).

Musk's Lawsuit Against OpenAI Over Nonprofit Mission Heads to Trial

Elon Musk's lawsuit accusing OpenAI of betraying its nonprofit mission entered trial on April 27 with jury selection (Source: France 24).

Economy

Japan's Cosmo Energy Confirms First US Crude Import — Diversifying Away from the Middle East

Cosmo Energy Holdings said Sunday that a shipment of US-produced crude oil arrived in Japan, marking the first confirmed case of a Japanese refiner turning to American crude as an alternative supply amid heightened Middle East tensions (Source: Nikkei Asia).

Chinese EVs' Share of Korean Market Climbs from 4.7% in 2022 to 33.9% in 2025

Data released Wednesday showed Chinese-made EVs' share of the Korean market rose from 4.7% in 2022 to 33.9% last year, while domestic EVs' share fell from 75% to 57.2%. One in three newly registered electric vehicles in Korea is now China-made, the report said (Source: South China Morning Post).

Hanwha Ocean Posts Q1 Net Profit of KRW 500B, Wins $2.45B in New Orders

Hanwha Ocean disclosed that its January–March net profit reached KRW 500 billion ($339.9 million), up 131.8% year-over-year. The company secured roughly $2.45 billion in new orders during the quarter, including four LNG carriers, seven VLCCs, and one wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) (Source: Yonhap).

Kolmar Korea to Invest KRW 187B in Sejong After Liquidating Overseas Operations

According to South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, Kolmar Korea plans to liquidate its overseas operations and return to Korea this year, investing KRW 187 billion ($126.6 million) in the city of Sejong (Source: Yonhap).

Hormuz Strait Traffic Plunges to 19 Ships, from Peacetime Daily Average of 129

According to maritime intelligence platform Windward, only 19 commercial vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday. UNCTAD reported that the daily average before the US–Israel war on Iran was 129 ships (Source: Al Jazeera).

ECB Q1 SAFE Survey: Eurozone One-Year Inflation Expectations Climb to 3.0%

In the Q1 2026 ECB SAFE survey, a net 26% of Eurozone firms reported rising bank lending rates — up from 12% the prior quarter. Median one-year inflation expectations rose to 3.0% (from 2.6%), expected selling-price increases reached 3.5% (from 2.9%), and projected input costs including energy climbed to 5.8% (from 3.6%) (Source: European Central Bank).

India's Sun Pharmaceutical to Acquire US Drugmaker Organon for $11.75B

India's Sun Pharmaceutical Industries will acquire US drugmaker Organon & Co for $11.75 billion in an all-cash deal including debt. Per Economic Times reporting, India's outbound M&A volume hit $22 billion in 2025 — a 10-year high (Source: LiveMint).

Politics

Russia's Defense Minister Says Moscow Ready to Sign 2027–2031 Military Cooperation Plan with North Korea

Russia's TASS news agency reported that Defense Minister Andrey Belousov said Moscow is ready to sign a North Korea–Russia military cooperation plan covering 2027–2031 (Source: France 24).

Ukraine Steps Up Unprecedented Deep Strikes on Russian Oil Export Facilities

Ukraine has been intensifying deep strikes targeting Russian oil export facilities to an unprecedented degree over recent weeks, BBC reported (Source: BBC World).

EU's "Made in Europe" Rule Mandates Minimum EU-Content Ratios for Strategic-Sector Public Financing

In March, the EU rolled out "Made in Europe" rules requiring companies seeking public financing in strategic sectors — autos, green technology, steel — to meet minimum EU-content thresholds. China's Ministry of Commerce announced Monday that it had submitted comments to the European Commission on April 24 calling the rules "systemic discrimination" (Source: France 24).

Beijing Bans Sales of 17 Core Consumer-Drone Components to Tighten Security

Under new rules taking effect Friday, Beijing will ban the sale, lease, and transport of consumer drones — including 17 core components such as airframes and flight-control systems — to disrupt supply chains (Source: Nikkei Asia).

Environment

India's Renewable Generation Surges 98 TWh in 2025, Up 24% Year-Over-Year

India's solar, wind, hydro, and bioenergy renewable generation grew by 98 TWh in 2025 — a 24% jump from 2024 — pushing fossil-fuel power into retreat. According to the Central Electricity Authority's new generation adequacy plan, India intends to roughly quadruple solar capacity and nearly triple wind capacity within the next decade (Source: OilPrice).

Over 50 Countries Meet to Map an Orderly Path Off Fossil Fuels

With the worst oil shock on record pressing on the global economy, more than 50 countries are gathering to chart an orderly path away from fossil fuels, RenewEconomy reported (Source: RenewEconomy).

India's Saturday Power Demand Hits Record 256 GW — Heatwave Marks Start of Peak Demand Season

According to official Indian government data, India's peak power demand surged to 256 GW on Saturday, breaking the previous day's 252 GW record as a heatwave kicked off the peak demand season (Source: OilPrice).

Society

Tokyo Diet Protest Led by Women Swells to Tens of Thousands Over Constitutional Reform and Arms Exports

Japanese women have grown a wave of protests in front of Tokyo's Diet from a few thousand at the end of February to tens of thousands, opposing constitutional reform, arms exports, and Japan's drift from its postwar peace commitments (Source: South China Morning Post).

UN Projects Additional 2 Billion Urban Residents by 2050

According to the UN, an additional 2 billion people could be living in cities by 2050, with rising demand for climate-adapted urban infrastructure such as rooftop gardens, the analysis noted (Source: Grist).