And “not near the top of spending per GDP” is not really an accurate assessment. From this data https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/defense-s... we can see that the countries with higher spending per GDP fall into one or more of the following categories:
- smaller, poorer countries
- countries involved in active military conflicts or with active military conflicts near them
- petrostates
>USA's military spending in 2021 hit $801bn a year, says the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. In comparison Russia's military spending in 2021 hit only $66bn.
US population: 329.5 million, Russian population: 144.1 million,
Per capita spending US: $24,600. Russia: $458
While I’m at it: US GDP: 20.94 trillion, 1.483 trillion
US military spending as percent of GDP: 3.8%, Russia: 4.5%
Now you can see how there is a way.