While most idealists would rather have peace all over the globe at all times, the reality is a bit different than that and armed conflicts seem to always be happening in some place or another, which is why we wanted to take a look at the 11 armies with the most firepower in the world.
These are the militaries that not only have a lot of manpower or a high budget, but also those that have fighter jets, tanks, and missile launchers, submarines, an impressive naval fleet and attack helicopters, to name just a few.
These are the militaries of the world that can take care of problems both on their own grounds and in foreign theaters, depending on where they are needed, whether they’re there to protect their own countries from afar or to help out an ally in dire need.
Things have changed a lot over the past few decades, with technology advancing not only for us regular people but also for the military. Fighter jets were improved and taken to the next level, tanks have become invincible, missiles can fly across the globe to hit a target, and submarines can go undetected as they close in on the enemy. Heavy investments have been made by world governments to buy better gear for their soldiers, be it the latest guns or the top aircraft created by companies such as Boeing.
Most countries on our list, as you’ll see, are from Europe, Asia, and North America. There are, however, plenty of other nations with strong militaries. You can check out another list we published a while back, regarding the 11 African countries with the highest military strength.
Back to our list of the 11 armies with the most firepower in the world, however. We took a look Global Fire Power, a website that takes into account the forces of the world’s militaries. There’s a global ranking they created, taking into account all aspects, but there are also rankings regarding specific military aspects.
For instance, it’s important to know which countries have the most aircraft, or submarines, or tanks. Several aspects were disregarded, including the nuclear capability of these nations, as we concentrated on conventional firepower. On the other hand, the geographical factors influence all rankings, naval powers are penalized if their naval capabilities are limited, and the current economic health for all countries are taken into account.
Geography plays an important role in this ranking, as well as the current economic health. After taking a look at all aspects, each nation was given a Power Index score, which takes everything into consideration. The best score is, ironically, 0, but that’s not realistically obtainable.
Putting them all together helps give us a better look at which nation is at the top of the list of the 11 armies with the most firepower in the world.