The factors by which countries were included to this list were numbers of troops, budget put into military, total machinery active (ground, naval and aerial), and both past records of battles and future plans for military development.
15. Australia
Budget Allotted: $26.1 billion
Total Active Troops: 58,000
Total Tanks in Service: 59
Total Aircraft in Service: 408
Total Submarines in Service: 6
Major Battles Fought
There is a long history involved with Australian war. It had participated in WWI and WWII as it was once, part of British Empire and gained victory in both.
Other than that Australia has not fought face to face with any country but has been partnered in the Afghanistan and Iraq with America and participated in peacekeeping missions with the end of the Second World War. Situated at the corner of the world with no nearby rival neighbors, it is marked as one of the safest and most defendable countries because it is near to impossible for ground Armies to invade. The Australian Defense Forces are relatively small but are technologically smart. With its small number of personnel but a bigger budget, ADF is able to deploy their troops in multiple locations outside Australia. The recruitment process of Australian forces is only on a volunteer basis where only an Australian citizen can join the force.
14. Germany
Budget Allotted: $40.2 billion
Total Active Troops: 180,000
Total Tanks in Service: 408
Total Aircraft in Service: 663
Total Submarines in Service: 4
Major Battles Fought
Germany had one of the major roles in World War I and II where it faced befitting defeats from the opponents, losing millions of people.
After the major World Wars and losses, Germany never got involved directly into major battles but sent their troops to their allies during the Ethiopian civil war, Angolan civil war, Bosnian war and Afghanistan war.
Whenever we hear about the German military, the first thought that comes to our mind is Adolf Hitler, who killed around 6 million Jews to gain power. The German military ended up low as it has less submarines and does not have an aircraft carrier. The German army has a record number of inexperienced underage soldiers making it weaker and now they are planning to revamp their strategy and execute new recruitment processes.
13. Italy
Budget Allotted: $34 billion
Total Active Troops: 320,000
Total Tanks in Service: 586
Total Aircraft in Service: 760
Total Submarines in Service: 6
Major Battles Fought
Italy has not directly involved with any country in any war in last modern era but has always participated in peacekeeping missions and has always deployed their troops in the war against terrorism.
The weak army of WWII is now the military with two active aircraft carriers which carry a large number of attack helicopters and large submarine, making it one of the strongest militaries. Italy, as of now, does not engage in a war with any country and is an active member of the UN and willingly sends their troops to the countries who seek help.
12. The United Kingdom
Budget Allotted: $60.5 billion
Total Active Troops: 147,000
Total Tanks in Service: 407
Total Aircraft in Service: 936
Total Submarines in Service: 10
Major Battles Fought
With a history of numerous battles, the UK with the British Commonwealth countries had fought and won in World War II, when they forced the Nazis to surrender.
After WWII, the UK had three major wars with Iceland and was defeated, enabling Iceland to expand its territories and gain more land.
The United Kingdom once ruled over half of the world including India, New Zealand, Malaysia, Canada, Australia, but the U.K. is getting much weaker as time passes. Britain’s military budget has been cut due to BREXIT though they’re planning to reduce the number of soldiers during until 2018.
The Royal Army is now planning for an aircraft carrier which can carry 40 F-35B joint strike fighters across the globe.
11. Israel
Budget Allotted: $17 billion
Total Active Troops: 160,000
Total Tanks in service: 4,170
Total Aircraft in service: 684
Total Submarines in service: 5
Major Battles Fought
A big rival of Arabs, Israel had been fighting for its independence since 1947. It has been in a continuous war scenario with Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and other Arab countries.
Israel has gained five consecutive victories in previous wars against Hamas and Palestine since the year 2000 as it is heavily backed up by US forces.
The country which is not recognized by 31 countries, out of which 18 belong to the Arab league, still manages to fight against its enemies. The Israel Defense Force requires every male adult to serve 3 years in its forces, women for 2 years and it punishes those who refuse to join. IDF differs from other forces as their troops do not get deployed but stay at Israel’s borders to protect them. The strongest part of Israeli forces is their use of technology in upgrading their defense systems.
10. Egypt
Budget Allotted: $4.4 billion
Total Active Troops: 468,500
Total Tanks in Service: 4,624
Total Aircraft in Service: 1,107
Total Submarines in Service: 4
Major Battles Fought
Fighting with the Arab union against Israel in 4 wars, Egypt never fought a major battle against any other country but had participated and deployed their troops several times against the terrorist groups of ISIS to create peace and bring back harmony in the world.
The incidents and wars of the Ancient Egyptian military have always rocked our history books. Egypt, with the history of using the weapons of mass destruction, is one of the countries who doesn’t agree and signed on the chemical weapons convention. Egypt is known to create the highest number of chemical weapons of mass destruction. Like Israel, it is mandatory for an Egyptian male to serve 9 years of his life in the arm forces. Now, Egypt is trying to maintain peace in its own country and fight a war against terrorism.
9. Pakistan
Budget Allotted: $8.5 Billion
Total Active Troops: 617,000
Total Tanks in Service: 2924
Total Aircraft in Service: 1073
Total Submarines in Service: 8
Major Wars Fought:
The first major war was fought in 1965 against their biggest rivals India which led to a tie where India had surrendered and called off their forces back after the fierce attack of the Pak Army.
The second war was due to internal country politics with East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) where Indian army also interrupted to take the revenge of 1965 and played their cards to break the country into two.
The result of the war was a big loss for Pakistan as East Pakistan got partitioned from the country and today that day is celebrated as the independence day of Bangladesh.
Pakistan’s army is considered one of the world’s strongest militaries as they have SSG commandos, the best special forces in the world. With 140 nuclear warheads and building 20 nuclear warheads annually, the country could become the third largest nuclear power of the world. Including the official Army, the citizens are always ready to stand, support and fight against their enemies. The people really love the forces and often seek justice from the Army instead of the courts and governments. With an intense rival India at the border, the percentage of the defense budget is increased every year to keep itself prepared at any time against any enemy. Pakistan is said to have very friendly relations with the superpowers including US, China, Turkey who are always ready to support the country. Recently a joint military drill with Russian army made the Pakistan Army much stronger as their biggest rival India was supported by Russia in previous wars against Pakistan.
8. Turkey
Budget Allotted: $18.2 billion
Total Active Troops: 410,500
Total Tanks in Service: 3,778
Total Aircraft in Service: 1,020
Total Submarines in Service: 13
Major Battles Fought
Turkey is an active member of the UN and did participate in the Korean War between China and Korea. They fought two major battles with Cyprus in 1964 and 19 74 and got a victory where they occupied 36.2% of Cyprus.
It is still participating in ongoing wars in Afghanistan against the Taliban and ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
The half European, half Asian country having the second largest army in NATO after the US is one of the best-trained militaries in the world. Turkey has a treasure of more than 200 F-16 aircraft, the second biggest number after the US. In spite of having a large number and a well-trained military, the military is not backed up and supported by the government and its people. At the beginning of 2016, when military attempted to coup up the country, they were defeated by the common citizens who came on roads and restored the elected government.
7. France
Budget Allotted: $62.3 billion
Total Active Troops: 205,000
Total Tanks in Service: 423
Total Aircraft in Service: 1,264
Total Submarines in Service: 10
Major Wars Fought
The military history of France is somewhat gloomy and struggles to extend for more than 3,000 years. It was involved in World War I and II and faced major defeats.
Other major wars included the French-Thai wars, Tunisian war of independence and the Algerian war of independence in 1954-62. After that France never got involved in major battles but sent troops to the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The French military was a leading military with the finest navy of the world until the First World War. It is the most disciplined military as it has reformed its enrollment structure to only accept volunteers. France is the world’s biggest and most efficient weapon manufacturer and only country, with Russia, to own a system capable of radar guided missiles. The French army keeps on finding out the new ways to defeat their enemies and is now training eagles to track, catch and destroy drones.
6. South Korea
Budget Allotted: $62.3 Billion
Total Active Troops: 625,000
Total Tanks in Service: 2,381
Total Aircraft in Service: 1,412
Total Submarines in Service: 13
Major Battles Fought
The major war fought was the Korean War in 1950 where all the United Nations stood up with South Korea against North Korea and China which resulted in their victory.
Again in 1966, North Korea tried to instigate an armed insurgency in South Korea where the US came to the aid of South Korea and lead it to a victory.
The military of South Korea is highly backed up by the world superpower the US making it even stronger. With the big rival at its border, South Korea keeps on increasing their budget every year to keep itself prepared against North Korea at any moment. The country has numerous weapons and tanks and has the sixth largest air force in the world.
5. India
Budget Allotted: $51 Billion
Total Active Troops: 1,408,551
Total Tanks in Service: 6464
Total Aircraft in Service: 1,905
Total Submarines in Service: 15
Major Battles Fought
A war was fought against China in 1962 due to the political gameplay of India which led India to a defeat and a loss of Aksai Chin, which came under direct Chinese control after the end of the conflict.
The war against Pakistan took place in 1965, where the war led to the Tashkent Pact and losses of thousands of military from both sides.
The Kargil War in 1999 was against Pakistan when Pakistani forces entered into Jammu to take back their state, but the war eventually ended as the Prime minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif called off the war and ordered General Musharraf to return back.
With the third largest army in numbers, India is the second most populated country with a population of around 1.3 billion; it has the 5th strongest military in the world. With a huge population, it has the most active military manpower aside from China and US. A country having 72% Hindus, 15% Muslims and around 6% Sikhs, the recruitment process of Indian Army is totally done on merit keeping the cast and religion at a side which makes it extremely powerful and united. The same story as Pakistan, the country keeps increasing their budget every year to keep itself prepared for any odd situations. Recently, India is upgrading their ground army and planning to equip T-90 tanks for night warfare as only 50% of tanks in India are configured with night warfare as compared to the neighbors Pakistan with 80% and China 100%.
4. Japan
Budget Allotted: $41.6 billion
Total Active Troops: 247, 173
Total Tanks in Service: 678
Total Aircraft in Service: 1,613
Total Submarines in Service: 16
Major Battles Fought
The two major battles in which Japan participated were WWI and WWII. They emerged victorious in WWI against Germany where it ended the German and Ottoman Empire.
Its last furious battle was during World War II which was the worst defeat for Japan and resulted in the Fall of the Japanese empire, weakening the roots when it was bombed with a nuclear weapon from the United States.
Japan’s high-tech military is equipped with advanced gadgets and weapons making it one of the strongest. The only country which suffered from nuclear attacks is not allowed to create any for their defense and rely on the US for their security. Japan is said to have a strong military with high tech weapons but it remains untested as the country has not participated in any war after the defeat in World War II. Japan has the fourth largest submarine and attacking helicopter fleet including four aircraft carriers. Recently, Japan has deployed their troops for the first time after WWII to South Sudan as part of UN peacekeeping missions.
3. Russia
Budget Allotted: $84.5 billion
Total Active Troops: 766,033
Total Tanks in Service: 15,398
Total Aircraft in Service: 3,429
Total Submarines in Service: 55
Major Battles Fought
Russia has a long history of wars, having been involved in more than 100 major wars since the 14th century and gained fierce victories and defeats too.
Russia was involved in World War I against central powers and faced a defeat. The Russian civil war resulted in a victory of Russian red army. Later, it got defeated, leading to the independence of Finland, Latvia, and Estonia. Russia is still involved in wars which are ongoing against Ukraine, ISIS and Syria to support them.
With the third strongest and most experienced military, Russia is a big threat to the superpowers China and US as it wanted to regain the position of superpower. Russia is heavily investing in their military budget and is producing the latest aircraft, helicopters, and ammunitions. By 2020, Russia plans to add another six Army Aviation airbases to the eight existing ones. In addition, more than one thousand new helicopters are planned to be put into service.
2. China
Budget Allotted: $216 billion
Total Active Troops: 2,333,000
Total Tanks in Service: 9,150
Total Aircraft in Service: 2,860
Total Submarines in Service: 67
Major Battles Fought
First was a Chinese Civil War which was fought for the freedom of China from the nationalists which resulted in a victory and formation of the People’s Republic of China.
China and the Soviet Union intervened in the Korean War with the allies North Korea against South Korea backed up by the US, UK, Canada, France, and UN members. Nearly 5 million people died in the Korean War and resulted in a stalemate when the US threatened a nuclear attack. Despite the signed truce, the conflict was not settled and Korea remains divided into two nations.
China is the world’s most populated country with the world’s largest number of army soldiers; approximately 2,333,000 personnel, 0.18% of the country’s population. China is increasing its military budget by 12% every year to become a super-power and stand against the US.
China’s arsenal includes around 400 nuclear weapons but they’ve promised that they will never be the first one to use a nuclear attack. Like the US, China also takes part to create peace around the world and is always the first one to provide troops to the countries who are fighting a war against militants. China is really concerned for their army and recently their president Xi Jinping has put out an order to produce a quality force rather than quantity.
1. United States
Budget Allotted: $601 billion
Total Active Troops: 1,400,000
Total Tanks in Service: 8,848
Total Aircraft in Service: 13892
Total Submarines in Service: 72
Major Battles Fought
With the world’s strongest military, the US have been directly or indirectly involved in almost every war happening on planet earth after its discovery by Columbus, which makes it the most powerful country in the world.
Some of the major wars in US history have been the Revolutionary War, Mexican-American War which was due to the dispute over Texas, the Civil War where the brother fought brother, The Spanish American War where America became a world power with its victory, World War I and II, the Korean War, Vietnam War, Desert Storm against Iraq, the war in Afghanistan after 9/11 and last the Iraq War which ended with the execution of Saddam Hussein.
Being the most powerful country with the strongest military, the US forces always stay active with their troops ready at any time. Experts say that the US can never be invaded as they have got the strongest Navy with the maximum number of ships and submarines. Over 1 million soldiers serve in the country, about half of the number is always active on duty and serves full time. The US army owns around 15 million acres of land across the US and the soldiers serve at 158 installations around the world. The US army never compromises on their missions with well-equipped vehicles, the latest weapons, and advanced aircraft. A 2011 Army Fact sheet estimated that they spent around 22 gallons of fuel per day per soldier.
Recently, the US Army is racing to build new cyber corps and increase their soldiers in the Cybercrime department. Their duty will be to secure and defend against cyber strikes, networks, and database information systems.
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Sure the "defense" business is going well, but spreading peace in the world has a price (like in Afghanistan, Irak, Syria...).
Come on Donald, it's christmas time!