War News Updates: military

Showing posts with label military. Show all posts

Thursday, August 24, 2023

Here Are The World's Most Powerful Militaries In 2023

Business Insider: The world's most powerful militaries in 2023, ranked

* Global Firepower ranked 145 countries based on their military power — here are the top 25.

* It said the US, China, and Russia rank highest, with some surprises further down.

* Experts told Insider that ranking militaries is subjective and imperfect, and suggested things to bear in mind.

Global Firepower's 2023 Military Strength Ranking ranks 145 nations' militaries, weighing a host of different factors like the volume of sophistication of its equipment, its finances, geography, and resources.

The ranking considers factors including the amount of military equipment and troops each country has, as well as their financial standing, geography, and available resources, information which may be imperfect.

Notably, the ranking only evaluates militaries from a conventional standpoint, overlooking a country's capacity for nuclear strike.

Read more ....

Update: US barely ahead of Russia in military strength – report (RT)

WNU Editor: The Global Firepower Index is here (link here).

Wednesday, January 19, 2022

Quantifying The World's Most Powerful Militaries

Zero Hedge: Quantifying The World's Most Powerful Militaries

When it comes to manpower, no military in the world comes close to that of China.

According to Global Firepower estimates, the People's Republic has around 2 million active military personnel. The United States in comparison, has significantly less - 1.4 million - but when assessing the overall power of the world's military forces, the U.S. comes out on top, ahead of Russia and China in second and third, respectively.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: While the media narrative paints a picture that Russia is a second rate and declining power, when comparing the overall power of the world's military forces the above analysis says Russia is very close to the U.S..

What's my take.

In a hypothetical war between the U.S. and Russia the conflict will occur near and/or on Russia's borders.

In this situation the Russian military holds a massive advantage.

Friday, October 11, 2019

31 Countries Do Not Have A Military

Costa Rican Police Officers

Business Insider: These are the 31 countries that don't have a military

* While it might seem normal for every country to have a military, there are some that don't have any armed forces whatsoever.
* Thirty-one countries don't have any armed forces, according to the CIA Factbook. This includes a lot of countries that receive military assistance from more powerful states.
* In some territories that don't have a standing army, police forces function as de facto military forces.

Can you guarantee security without a military? For most people, this question sounds like a contradiction, but there are countries that maintain their territorial sovereignty without actually having military forces.

With the help of the CIA World Factbook, we have identified the 31 countries that currently don't have armed forces.

While there are some nations on this list that don't have a military whatsoever, others are dependent on other, more powerful countries that act as protective forces in the case of an emergency. For example, the Marshall Islands' military defense is the responsibility of the US, while France and Spain both provide military support to Andorra because of their proximity.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: The only surprise for me on this list is Panama. I guess after Noriega the Panamanians lost any desire to have a military.

Monday, October 29, 2018

10 Items That Have A Military Past

Popular Mechanics: 10 Items That Have a Surprising Military Past

Yes, even M&Ms.

The military has always been a driver for invention, especially in the United States. Thanks to DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, you might consider high-tech toys like drones and GPS systems and the modern internet as military-based inventions. But there are a number of simpler items with military origin stories—some of which you probably use (or snack on) every day.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: I have used half of these products.

Saturday, September 22, 2018

These Are The 25 Most Powerful Militaries In The World

US Marines with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit fire an M777 Howitzer during a fire mission in northern Syria as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, March 24, 2017. Photo By: Lance Cpl. Zachery Laning

Business Insider: These are the 25 most powerful militaries in the world — and there's a clear winner

President Donald Trump has emphasized military might during his first year in office, but the US is not the only country seeking to expand its battlefield capacities. Between 2012 and 2016, more weapons were delivered than during any five-year period since 1990.

Arms sales indicate who is beefing up their armed forces, but head-to-head military comparisons are harder to come by. Global Firepower's 2017 Military Strength Ranking tries to fill that void by drawing on more than 50 factors to assign a Power Index score to 133 countries.

The ranking assesses the diversity of weapons held by each country and pays particular attention to the manpower available. The geography, logistical capacity, available natural resources, and the status of local industry are also taken into account.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: No surprises in this list.

Sunday, May 6, 2018

These Are The Top 15 Countries When It Comes To Numbers Of Active Troops

China's People's Liberation Army troops prepare for the military parade commemorating the 90th anniversary of the foundation of the army, at Zhurihe military training base in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. Reuters/China Daily CDIC

Business Insider: These are the 15 global militaries with the most troops ready to fight today

Head-to-head comparisons of militaries are hard to make. Each force brings different capabilities to the table and excels in different environments.

Global Firepower's 2017 Military Strength Ranking tries to compensate for those differences by drawing on more than 50 factors — among them diversity of weapons, available manpower, logistical capacity, and industrial base — to assign a Power Index score to 133 countries.

The number of troops and available personnel a country can draw on are central components of its military power. The list below is composed of the 15 militaries with the most active-duty personnel — the "ready to fight" units that would be the first to see combat:

Read more ....

WNU Editor: The country that surprised me was Algeria with 520,000 active personnel.

Monday, April 9, 2018

Who Knew That An Amphibious Vehicle Can Do A Belly Flop Into The Ocean

Popular Mechanics: Watch This Amphibious Vehicle Belly Flop Into the Ocean

The Indonesian marines really know how to run their vehicles hard. Maybe too hard.

It's a shenanigan that would probably make the U.S. Marine Corps' vehicle maintainers blow a gasket. In the video below, Indonesian marines race their American-made amphibious assault vehicles off a dock, sending them flying into the ocean. The vehicles are actually suspended in the air for a few brief moments before sending up a tremendous splash of water.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: I suspect that this was a very costly stunt.

Tuesday, April 3, 2018

36 Nations Do Not Have A Standing Military

Department of Defense photo

CNBC: From Aruba to Iceland, these 36 nations have no standing military

* Three-dozen nations do not have a standing military, according to the CIA World Factbook.
* While several of these states do not have armed forces, their national police act as de facto military forces.

In the United States, which has 1.3 million active-duty troops and spends more on defense than the next seven countries combined, it's hard to imagine that there are countries without a standing military. But there are, in fact, three dozen such countries and regions.

The CIA World Factbook lists 36 nations and territories without armed forces, many of which rely on other countries and international groups to provide their defense. Switzerland and Austria have agreed to provide a collective defense of Liechtenstein, for instance, while Spain and France protect Andorra.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Falkland Islands and Greenland are not nation states. Iceland has a navy.

Saturday, March 17, 2018

10 Greatest Military Operation Names

Israeli troops on a 1976 rescue raid in "7 Days in Entebbe" (Focus Features)

Military.com: 10 Greatest Military Operation Names

"7 Days in Entebbe" (now in theaters) tells the story of Operation Thunderbolt, the daring 1976 rescue of 94 Israeli passengers and 12 crew members from an Air France grounded in Uganda after a hijacking by German PLO sympathizers. Inspired by the movie, we've got a list of the ten greatest operation names in military history.

The Entebbe raid was an enormous story back in 1976, so big that is wasn't totally overshadowed by the fact that the raid took place on the American Bicentennial on July 4, 1976. The popular fascination with the successful raid inspired two better-than-average, all-star TV movies that fall: "Victory at Entebbe" (starring Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Dreyfuss, Kirk Douglas, Helen Hayes, Burt Lancaster, Anthony Hopkins and Linda Blair) and "Raid on Entebbe" (starring Charles Bronson, Peter Finch, Jack Warden, James Woods, Sylvia Sidney and Martin Balsam. Plus Irvin Kershner of "The Empire Strikes Back" directed).

Read more ....

Monday, March 5, 2018

Here Are The World's Top 25 Militaries And Some Of Their Arsenals

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Jenny Cheng/Business Insider

Business Insider: Here's the hardware the world's top 25 militaries have in their arsenals

* The US is the world's most powerful military, according to firepower.
* Russia and China aren't far behind.

President Donald Trump has reemphasized military strength, reportedly planning to ask for $716 billion in defense spending in 2019 — a 7% increase over the 2018 budget (though spending is currently limited by budget caps).

US defense spending is the highest in the world, more than the combined budgets of the next several countries. But US plans to ramp up acquisitions of military hardware will only add to an already booming arms industry.

Between 2012 and 2016, more weapons were delivered around the world than during any five-year period since 1990.

Below, you can see the world's top 25 militaries and the assets they can deploy to the battlefield, as ranked by Global Firepower Index.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: It is a partial list, but it does give an idea on what is out there.

Friday, May 12, 2017

Global Firepower Posts Its Ranking Of Countries By Military Strength

Nuclear stockpiles were taken into account but not recognized, in the figures compiled by Global Firepower.

Daily Mail: US still boasts the most powerful military in the world, spending almost three times as much as Russia and China COMBINED, according to new global rankings of armed forces

* The US still boasts the most powerful military in the world, dwarfing both Russia and China behind them
* The US spends almost $600 billion a year on its defence budget with 'available manpower' of 145,215,000
* Ranking of 106 nations based on more than 50 factors, including military budget, manpower and weaponry

The US still boasts the most powerful military in the world, dwarfing both Russia and China behind them, according to the new global rankings of armed forces around the world.

The US spends almost $600 billion a year on its defence budget and has an 'available manpower' of 145,215,000.

Russia, which came second in the rankings, spends less than $45 billion a year on defense while China forks out $161 billion annually according to military analytics website Global Firepower.

Read more ....

Update: US military is STILL the most powerful in the world and boasts a massive £465 billion budget, 19 aircraft carriers and more than 13,000 aircraft (The SUN).

WNU Editor: The Global Fire website is here. Global Fire's ranking of countries by military strength is here.

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Visualizing The World's Largest Armed Forces

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Statista: The Largest Armed Forces in the World

In response to a U.S. navy battle group being sent toward the Korean peninsula at the weekend, Pyongyang has responded with a warning of "catastrophic consequences”, adding that North Korea is "ready to react to any mode of war desired by the U.S.". With China supposedly agreeing that some form of action now has to be taken on its ally, our infographic looks at the countries with the largest amount of active-duty troops in the world.

Read more ....

Saturday, January 30, 2016

A Look At Some Very Expensive Projects That Were Abandoned By The U.S. MIlitary

A prototype of the Non-Line-of-Sight-Cannon, a component of the Future Combat Systems.

Jeremy Bender, Business Insider: 15 of the most expensive projects abandoned by the US military

The US military is unquestionably the world's strongest force with the world's largest defense budget.

But throughout the 2000s, the Pentagon spent $51.2 billion on 15 major programs "without any fielded systems to show for it," according to a new Center for Strategic and International Studies report.

The abandoned projects are largely due to a lack of funding attributed to the Budget Control Act and sequestration.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Future Combat Systems was a good idea .... that just could not work.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

The World's Top Militaries

Wikimedia Commons

The 10 Most Powerful Militaries In The World -- Business Insider

As a Marine Corps veteran, I would like to point out that there’s more to military prowess than firepower. There’s no statistic for leadership, no metric for the stuff they pump into you at Parris Island.

But firepower matters ... a lot.

In a world rife with global conflicts, the ability to project power and wield that power decisively is an important national security and diplomatic asset.

The folks at Global Firepower have figured out a way to rank who has the most powerful military.

They measure 40 different stats about a country, including number of aircraft characters, available manpower, and labor force, to produce a “Power Index,” in which lower numbers equal more firepower.

Read more ....

My Comment: No mention of Israel or North Korea .... granted that the metrics that are used are different than the standard methods used in determining the strength of a country's military.

Friday, June 29, 2012

A Laser That Shoots Lightning

Guided lightning bolt travels horizontally, then hits a car.
(Credit: U.S. Army)

Brrzzzt! U.S. Army Checks Out Laser-Based Lightning Tech -- CNet

Future weapon would seek out targets that conduct electricity better than the air or ground that surrounds them.

Earlier this spring, the U.S. Army revealed the existence of a project underway to build a device that could shoot lightning bolts down laser beams to take out a target. Now the military's boffins report success in their first tests.

The technology -- known as laser-induced plasma channel -- is designed to seek out targets that conduct electricity better than the air or ground that surrounds them.

Read more ....

More News On the U.S. Army's Laser That Shoots Lightning

US army builds lightning bolt laser weapon -- Wired
Army Developing Laser That Shoots Lightning -- CBS
The Power of Zeus, In The Hands Of The U.S Military -- Ubergizmo
U.S. Army weapon shoots lightning bolts down laser beams -- Gizmag
Army tests lightning weapon -- Salon/Global Post
Army looks to strike foes with lightning weapon -- FOX News