Which would be the 5 most powerful militaries in the world?

[nemesismk2]

Originally posted by: Zombie
There should be 2 separate list(children should not be allowed on adult category )

Top 5 Real militaries
US
Russia
China
India
<open>

Top 5 paper tigers
France
UK
Canada
North Korea
Japan/Germany

Hey the UK would have a real military force as well if we gave our soldiers more than 1 bullet each!

 

[athithi]

Originally posted by: chuckieland
my take on overall

1.USA (no question about it)
2.Russia (don't count them up yet)
3.China (uprising, mass of outdate equipment to retire and replace with new ones)
4.UK
5.N.K (large well train army, skill wise)

I don't consider following powerful
french (it doesn't matter, french army surrander fast in WW1, WW2. and lost to vietment military)
Iran (8 year war with iraq, ended in tie, so we should expect same result when usa invade)
India (likes to invade other country, but hardly win any war. fought a tie with parkistan, lost to china in 1950's when india going for capture tabit)

India likes to mind its business for the most part and (mostly) do good by its citizens. It's called 'democracy' but I believe the term is unfamiliar in China, so I'll let that slide. India has won 3 wars against Pakistan (1947, 1971 and 1999 - Kargil), apparently stalemated one (1965), lost a war to China (in 1962 - nothing to do with Tibet or 1950s - when China took advantage of the Cuban Missile crisis to needle India) and had a mini-Vietnam of its own in Sri Lanka in the late 80s. China was the expansionist nation (invaded Tibet and still claims Arunachal Pradesh, an Indian state). But China-India ties are better these days (no thanks to half-wits like you who can neither spell nor get facts right) and the likelihood of war is considered extremely low.

As far as military goes, the Indian navy is far superior to the Chinese navy as of date. Though in an out and out war with no one else interfering, I believe India is probably still not capable of an outright victory over China. But it wouldn't be a loss of 1962 magnitude either.

 

[Snapster]

Originally posted by: nemesismk2

Originally posted by: Zombie
There should be 2 separate list(children should not be allowed on adult category )

Top 5 Real militaries
US
Russia
China
India
<open>

Top 5 paper tigers
France
UK
Canada
North Korea
Japan/Germany

Hey the UK would have a real military force as well if we gave our soldiers more than 1 bullet each!

Did we give them even 1 ? :Q

 

[freegeeks]

1)USA

the undisputable n°1. No question about it. Large, lot's of money, well trained, high tech equipment

2-5
Depending on the situation you can rank Russia, UK, China, France as 2nd or as 5th

UK
Well funded, good equipment, well trained. Modern air force. Has difficulties projecting power world wide. Their last fixed wing carrier (Ark Royal) was decommisioned in the 70's and without one you are limited. In the Falkland war they had to improvise with the jump jet carrier but did it with great skills and kicked serious ass. Learned from this experience and plan to reintroduce a new fixed wing carrier in the next 10-15 years. Modern nuclear force with high-tech nuclear attack and ICBM subs.

France
People here are blinded by the French-surrender-frog syndrome.
Well funded, excellent equipment, well trained. Modern air force. Healthy and high-tech weapon industry (Rafale, Leclerc, ...). After the US the only country that can effectively project conventional power worldwide with it's nuclear carrier battle group Charles de Gaulle. Plans are underway to build a 2nd nuclear carrier. Strong presence in Africa (Djibouti, Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Congo). Modern nuclear force with high-tech nuclear attack and ICBM subs. Cocky and arrogant and is willing to invest the billions in its military to be at the top.


Russia
Big but without money. Has developed excellent equipent in the last 10 year but can not afford to buy it. Serious problem with training and motivation. Has a problem projecting conventional power world wide because it has no carriers (and no funds). Lot's of nukes with some very modern systems (land based and subs). Biggest problem is the funding and motivation of its troops (demonstrated in the serious ass kicking they recieved in Chechnya).

China
Very big and has the commitment to rival the USA in the coming 20-30 years. Large but mostly outdated air force. The same for the land forces. Large but with 60's equipment. Can probably kick serious ass just because of sheer numbers. Is investing tons of money in its military and their defense budget is much bigger then they offical say. Nuclear force is not as modern as the other countries. Pathetic navy for a country that big. Will be a serious contender for the USA in the next decades

just my 0,2 eurocent

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: RabidMongoose

Originally posted by: EyeMWing

Originally posted by: RabidMongoose

Originally posted by: EyeMWing
US
China
Canada (Due to shared airspace with the United States. )
UK
North Korea
India
Pakistan
Russia (They're long out of money)
Israel (They're very unique in that they're very small but have CRAZY skills, especially their Air Force)
Various EU nations
Saudi Arabia
Lybia
Mexico
Iran
Argentina

There, that takes care of every country with the political stability needed for a standing army.

How does the Canadian military get more powerful because of shared air space with the US?

Russia may be 'long out of money' but they still spend a lot more than some of these other countries. Don't they spend the 3rd most in military spending?

Why do some people have North Korea as one of the most powerful militaries in the world?

The Canadian military is 100% unstoppable on home turf. An attack on Canada is an attack on the United States (and vice versa) militarily speaking. It's even closer than the rest of NATO and the various other escalation pacts we've signed on to because our defense command is shared.

Their offensive power is lacking, though, so they aren't grouped with the U.S as the EU is.

NK is so powerful because they appear to have a very similar relationship with China.

Russia's military is further hampered because they are consistantly in conflict with former Soviet states and I'm not aware of any significant advancement in their equipment since the early 80's. US-built equipment, Chinese built equipment (Which is all locally produced varients on Russian designs, but often modernized) and even Israeli built equipment outpace Russia's antique war machine.

I thought the topic was about militaries, not alliances.

Looking solely at the military power, Canada would definitely not be in the top 5. Yes, the US would probably help them, but that doesn't mean that the Canadian military itself is some sort of military powerhouse.

indeed, its about having a large military that can allow you to assert influence around the world. not who you can hide behind. of course canada can't keep their yap sh*t in global affairs even though they are stuck being the impotent good cop. its like being one of those parasites on a shark, it doesn't make the parasite powerful, just safe. canada's security is effectively subsidized by the us.

 

[nemesismk2]

Originally posted by: Snapster

Originally posted by: nemesismk2

Originally posted by: Zombie
There should be 2 separate list(children should not be allowed on adult category )

Top 5 Real militaries
US
Russia
China
India
<open>

Top 5 paper tigers
France
UK
Canada
North Korea
Japan/Germany

Hey the UK would have a real military force as well if we gave our soldiers more than 1 bullet each!

Did we give them even 1 ? :Q

Probably not

 

[AIWGuru]

North Korea has a system of HUGE artillery aimed at south Korean cities. I've heard speculation that they could level a huge chunk of south korean populace within days if war broke out using non-nuclear weapons.

 

[bernse]

Originally posted by: DWW

Originally posted by: bernse

Originally posted by: DWW

North Korea > USA in terms of numbers.

USA is a monster compared to N. Korea in sheer numbers.

*edit*
Took out rude comment

Are you joking? Maybe in population but not comparatively in forces.

No, I'm not. Even without conscription the US is a behemoth compared to North Korea.

 

[thatsright]

1. Soviet Red Army in WW2
2. Roman Empire Army
3. US Military in WW2
4. British Army/Navy in the 1700's & 1800's
5. The Vietcong/NVA during the Vietnam war 1946-1975. (Hey they kicked our ass & the French)

Wasn't sure if you meant currently or all time?

 

[athithi]

Originally posted by: thatsright

1. Soviet Red Army in WW2
2. Roman Empire Army
3. US Military in WW2
4. British Army/Navy in the 1700's & 1800's
5. The Vietcong/NVA during the Vietnam war 1946-1975. (Hey they kicked our ass & the French)

Wasn't sure if you meant currently or all time?

What the heck did the VietCong acheive that was so amazing? How well would they have performed had the war taken place in the American Mid-west?

Perhaps, you miss the irony in your post - the American Militia kicking your #4 greatest military in the 1700s

 

[Spike]

Originally posted by: xXped0thugXx
If your talking about Quality there are different fighting forces that are much better than the USA quality wise. Marines go to train around the world with other armys all the time. There is a fighting force in Africa that is supposed to be the best trained force in the world. Then you also have the British Marines, etc.

The funny part is, they go all over the world to TRAIN others as well as be trained by them. We train Isreali forces as well as numerous others around the world, uncluding the British Marines. This is a joint thing, not a one-sided affair.

oh, and as a casual military buff my rankings would be

1. US
2. China
3. UK
4. India
5. France or Germany, not sure

-spike

 

[thatsright]

Originally posted by: athithi

Originally posted by: thatsright

1. Soviet Red Army in WW2
2. Roman Empire Army
3. US Military in WW2
4. British Army/Navy in the 1700's & 1800's
5. The Vietcong/NVA during the Vietnam war 1946-1975. (Hey they kicked our ass & the French)

Wasn't sure if you meant currently or all time?

What the heck did the VietCong acheive that was so amazing? How well would they have performed had the war taken place in the American Mid-west?

Perhaps, you miss the irony in your post - the American Militia kicking your #4 greatest military in the 1700s

To give a bit more reasoning behind two of my choices, here goes. The Vietcong wore down two major military powers and ended up forcing them to leave Indo-China. Yes they didn't have the same caliber of US equipment, but thats not the point. And of course if they were fighting in the US mid-west, of course they would be wiped out. I just put them in my list because of what they were able to overcome in the end.

As for the British military of the 1700's & 1800's, yes we did beat them in the American revolution but this was just one loss for them. I'm really referring to their US navy in Europe and around the world that was so dominant. Taken as a whole, the British military of that time was very powerful, even including loosing to the American colonist. And I meant the USA military of World War 2, not of the same period as the British Military of the 17th & 18th centuries.

Just my $0.03

 

[SherEPunjab]

Originally posted by: Spencer278
12. India - $12.8 billion

Why do people keep saying india is in the top 5 when their speeding is 12th?

1)US
2)EU (I don't think U.K. alone will make the list)
3)France
4)China/Russia
5)India



military budgets alone aren't necessarily the best indicator. India, for example is able to broker a number of "good deals" that other countries don't pay attention to. They recently got a Russian carrier for "free." Most of their training jets are cheap, archaic Mig-21s (human life is "more" expendable there). They have gotten a number of technologies from france and russia to build their own indigenous fighter craft now -- and labor is damn cheap there. Lets just say they get a lot "more" than the U.S. dollar for dollar. They may not have the best equipment - but it gets the job done.Putting Pakistan on the map is a joke. India fought 3 wars with them, and humiliated them each time. In one war, even 90,000 plus Pakistani troops surrendered.

 

[Dragnov]

You can't say EU because it's only a military alliance for protection (well actually thats NATO). They have no common foreign policy and such.

And I don't know what some of you guys are smoking. NK? Sure maybe in their respective areas, but when they are barely getting ICBM capabilities... uhhhh...

 

[idNut]

You know what I just realized? We need some aliens to fight that way we can point all those weapons and inner agression against another species instead of blowing ourselves up. I think that would unite some brotherhood amongst humanity don't you think?

 

[LongCoolMother]

all these people are posting about the outdated techs and type of equipment various countries are using. any links to any info? im interested in finding out about these militaries and what type of equipment they all have.

 

[SherEPunjab]

Originally posted by: Dragnov
You can't say EU because it's only a military alliance for protection (well actually thats NATO). They have no common foreign policy and such.

And I don't know what some of you guys are smoking. NK? Sure maybe in their respective areas, but when they are barely getting ICBM capabilities... uhhhh...

seriously. wasn't there a thread just the other day that they are reduced to eating bark and rodents off the street. how can they realistically fight?

 

[Shlong]

Originally posted by: idNut
You know what I just realized? We need some aliens to fight that way we can point all those weapons and inner agression against another species instead of blowing ourselves up. I think that would unite some brotherhood amongst humanity don't you think?

That's what Ronald Reagan Said.

 

[LongCoolMother]

Originally posted by: Shlong

Originally posted by: idNut
You know what I just realized? We need some aliens to fight that way we can point all those weapons and inner agression against another species instead of blowing ourselves up. I think that would unite some brotherhood amongst humanity don't you think?

That's what Ronald Reagan Said.

then we can let the USA fend off the outworldish invaders, the way they think everything is always their business. while the rest of the world kicks back and enjoys the show. .

 

[SackOfAllTrades]

Originally posted by: idNut
You know what I just realized? We need some aliens to fight that way we can point all those weapons and inner agression against another species instead of blowing ourselves up. I think that would unite some brotherhood amongst humanity don't you think?

I think ID4 was a cool movie.

 

[xXped0thugXx]

Originally posted by: Mookow

Originally posted by: xXped0thugXx
If your talking about Quality there are different fighting forces that are much better than the USA quality wise. Marines go to train around the world with other armys all the time. There is a fighting force in Africa that is supposed to be the best trained force in the world. Then you also have the British Marines, etc.

You also have armys in places like somalia that grew up fighting. Years of a civil war you get pretty skilled with weapons and markmanship yada yada, but in no means do they have an organized technologically advanced army. They however may be better fighters.

You also have the North Koreans who are threatning because of their known nuclear tech. Their army has more people than ours and are just as well trained. If we ever had to go in there we would get our asses handed to us IMO.

But thats just me and the rumors going around.

Just threw in some other tidbits, im not gonna rank because obviously its been done to anyones opinion in this thread.

When the US went into Somalia, they didnt show many signs of being good fighters. There were a lot of them, but its not like they demonstrated any marksmanship or anything, just a willingness to continue an attack, no matter how many of them died. I would call that bravery and/or dedication, but I think the drugs that they were using had more to do with it.

The North Koreans... well, the best thing you can say about their army is that unlike the rest of the country, they are eating fairly regularly. But stack them head to head with a company of American infantry, and they're not going to match up well. Give that American company the standard amount of supporting arms that they could expect, and the NK's aren't even going to see daylight. They dont have the equipment, the training (not just training time, but quality), and once they are outside of the range of the artillery that is all aimed at Seoul right now, they dont have much in the way of supporting arms.

BTW, what is the name of: "There is a fighting force in Africa that is supposed to be the best trained force in the world"?

I do, however, agree with you that most of this is opinion. I just dont see the NK army or the Somali's the way you do.

I think alot of it is the attitude of the troop as well as the training. Thats why i considered Somalis. They had desire, an unrelenting determination to win, plus patriotism also takes affect. I think that if your totally gung-ho about fighting it only adds to your training. They may have sucked fighting wise because they could not hit the broad side of a barn, but they refused to lose. They knew their land well, and i guarentee that we didnt take them lightly and it was much harder than anticipated. If you remember we lost alot of Marines in there.
As far as NK i agree with you again. But then again i bring up the refuse to lose attitude, the willingness to whatever for their country. They may not be the best trained but they have alot of people in there, decent training, and decent tech. If you remember when we went into Korea it was no easy task. Chosin Resevoir was almost a disaster and it wasnt a place of easy fighting. Although if they ever attacked us it wouldnt be pretty for them either so it depends. IMO if we went back into Korea we would get our asses handed to us.

The African fighting force im reminded of is ECOMIL even though it doesnt ring a bell. I had a Staff Sergeant tell me he went and trained with them. There wasnt many troops but he said training wise they were the best trained in the world. He was also a Green Baret and trained all over the world including with the British Royal Armed Forces. Again thats just word of mouth but he was a crazy dude that been through alot of different training, so i believed him whole heartedly.

Originally posted by: Mwilding

1. US Army
2. US Navy
3. US Marines
4. US Air Force
5. Great Britain

you've gotta be kidding me. US Marines are better trained than Army Rangers outta boot camp. US Marines are considered special forces, again right out of boot camp. Go figure why our training is longer than anyone elses. Army finishes their boot camp and infantry training before we finish our boot camp (length wise). As far as the Navy goes... i like those Navy guys they bring us wherever we need to fight. I give respect to The Seals because that training is considered better than ours but i consider US NAVY Seals and the US Marines the elite two forces in the US. I have respect for whomever is fighting the good fight... dont get me wrong and take what i said out of context. Its just when you think of a Seal or a Marine you think of two of the baddest f*ckers out there

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: SherEPunjab

Originally posted by: Spencer278
12. India - $12.8 billion

Why do people keep saying india is in the top 5 when their speeding is 12th?

1)US
2)EU (I don't think U.K. alone will make the list)
3)France
4)China/Russia
5)India



military budgets alone aren't necessarily the best indicator. India, for example is able to broker a number of "good deals" that other countries don't pay attention to. They recently got a Russian carrier for "free." Most of their training jets are cheap, archaic Mig-21s (human life is "more" expendable there). They have gotten a number of technologies from france and russia to build their own indigenous fighter craft now -- and labor is damn cheap there. Lets just say they get a lot "more" than the U.S. dollar for dollar. They may not have the best equipment - but it gets the job done.Putting Pakistan on the map is a joke. India fought 3 wars with them, and humiliated them each time. In one war, even 90,000 plus Pakistani troops surrendered.

Two Wars India fought with China were disasterous for the Indians. Of course if I recall correctly it had more to do with poor leadership on the Indian side than the Chinese being better fighters. Of course that can be construed as the Chinese being better prepared, at least regarding their Generals.

 

[CanOWorms]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: SherEPunjab

Originally posted by: Spencer278
12. India - $12.8 billion

Why do people keep saying india is in the top 5 when their speeding is 12th?

1)US
2)EU (I don't think U.K. alone will make the list)
3)France
4)China/Russia
5)India



military budgets alone aren't necessarily the best indicator. India, for example is able to broker a number of "good deals" that other countries don't pay attention to. They recently got a Russian carrier for "free." Most of their training jets are cheap, archaic Mig-21s (human life is "more" expendable there). They have gotten a number of technologies from france and russia to build their own indigenous fighter craft now -- and labor is damn cheap there. Lets just say they get a lot "more" than the U.S. dollar for dollar. They may not have the best equipment - but it gets the job done.Putting Pakistan on the map is a joke. India fought 3 wars with them, and humiliated them each time. In one war, even 90,000 plus Pakistani troops surrendered.

Two Wars India fought with China were disasterous for the Indians. Of course if I recall correctly it had more to do with poor leadership on the Indian side than the Chinese being better fighters. Of course that can be construed as the Chinese being better prepared, at least regarding their Generals.

What was the second war that they fought?

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: CanOWorms

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: SherEPunjab

Originally posted by: Spencer278
12. India - $12.8 billion

Why do people keep saying india is in the top 5 when their speeding is 12th?

1)US
2)EU (I don't think U.K. alone will make the list)
3)France
4)China/Russia
5)India



military budgets alone aren't necessarily the best indicator. India, for example is able to broker a number of "good deals" that other countries don't pay attention to. They recently got a Russian carrier for "free." Most of their training jets are cheap, archaic Mig-21s (human life is "more" expendable there). They have gotten a number of technologies from france and russia to build their own indigenous fighter craft now -- and labor is damn cheap there. Lets just say they get a lot "more" than the U.S. dollar for dollar. They may not have the best equipment - but it gets the job done.Putting Pakistan on the map is a joke. India fought 3 wars with them, and humiliated them each time. In one war, even 90,000 plus Pakistani troops surrendered.

Two Wars India fought with China were disasterous for the Indians. Of course if I recall correctly it had more to do with poor leadership on the Indian side than the Chinese being better fighters. Of course that can be construed as the Chinese being better prepared, at least regarding their Generals.

What was the second war that they fought?

Was it only one? I thought they tangled twice.

 

[CanOWorms]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: CanOWorms

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: SherEPunjab

Originally posted by: Spencer278
12. India - $12.8 billion

Why do people keep saying india is in the top 5 when their speeding is 12th?

1)US
2)EU (I don't think U.K. alone will make the list)
3)France
4)China/Russia
5)India



military budgets alone aren't necessarily the best indicator. India, for example is able to broker a number of "good deals" that other countries don't pay attention to. They recently got a Russian carrier for "free." Most of their training jets are cheap, archaic Mig-21s (human life is "more" expendable there). They have gotten a number of technologies from france and russia to build their own indigenous fighter craft now -- and labor is damn cheap there. Lets just say they get a lot "more" than the U.S. dollar for dollar. They may not have the best equipment - but it gets the job done.Putting Pakistan on the map is a joke. India fought 3 wars with them, and humiliated them each time. In one war, even 90,000 plus Pakistani troops surrendered.

Two Wars India fought with China were disasterous for the Indians. Of course if I recall correctly it had more to do with poor leadership on the Indian side than the Chinese being better fighters. Of course that can be construed as the Chinese being better prepared, at least regarding their Generals.

What was the second war that they fought?

Was it only one? I thought they tangled twice.

I thought they fought in the early 60's around the time when Kennedy was in office. Everything on Google only mentions that war. Maybe there was another smaller conflict like that Kargill (not sure how to spell it) incident?