BEYOND GASOLINE
In this special supplement, we investigate the effect the fluctuating oil price is having on military defence spending and the defence industry as a whole – from detailing figures for military fuel costs for militarily advanced nations, to advances in energy reliance reduction across the land, sea and air.
“Throughout history, energy has been the limiting factor in all military operations,” Dr Douglas Kirkpatrick of DARPA’s biofuels programme told a symposium in 2007. “Whether it was Roman armies foraging for supplies or General George S Patton running out of fuel as he dashed across France. The situation is little different today”.
The burden placed on militaries by fuel demands is significant. Beyond the logistics concerns outlined by Kirkpatrick, the need to keep armed forces moving accounted for more than $17 billion of the defence budgets of the worlds top 20 military spenders in 2007 alone. The oil price spike of 2008 is estimated by IHS Jane's to have added up to $6 billion to this bill.
Budgetary burdens aside, reliance on petroleum products exposes militaries to the vagaries of the international energy markets and security concerns relating to dependence on foreign suppliers, and places limits on operational endurance.
