10. Japan
Japan was the land of Samurais. Also, Japan was a leading military force in WW-II. It increased its military spending, first time in 11 years, to $49.1 billion, It has over 247,000 active personnel and almost 60,000 in reserve. It has 1,595 aircraft, it is the 5th largest air force. The army is also equipped with 131 war ships. Besides, through its recent defense initiatives, it maintains a solid military presence in Asia.
9. South Korea
South Korea shares its border with North Korea which has an extremely powerful army. To meet the increasing armament of China and Japan, South Korea has been increasing its defense expenditure, which is now $34 billion. It maintains a large army of over 640,000 active personnel and 2,900,000 additional personnel in the reserve, alongside the 6th largest air force with 1,393 aircraft, as well as a small 166 ships. The country has about 15,000 land weapons, including rocket systems, as well as 2,346 tanks. It routinely participates in military training with the US.
8. Turkey
Turkey decided to increase its investment in defence in 2015 by 10%. Its defense budget is at $18.18 billion. Its army size, including regular troops and reserves, is just above 660,000. Turkey’s air force has 1000 aircraft. The military also claims to 16,000 land weapons. It has strong diplomatic ties with the US, and partakes in initiatives around the world. Now it stands at 8th spot among strongest armies.
7. Germany
Germany is one of the strongest economic forces in the world. But despite spending around $45 million every year. It has only 183,000 active front-line personnel and 145,000 reservists, alongside 710 aircraft in total, and on-land armament of nearly 5,000 of various kinds.
6. France
France is another country to follow Germany’s lead because, in 2013, it took the decision to ‘effectively ‘freeze’ its military spending, and cut down on the defense jobs by 10%, to save money for technologically advanced equipment. Over 220,000 regular force combines with reservists to form a force of about 500,000. It has just over 1,000 aircraft, along with 9,000 ground vehicles. Even if these do not make France a formidable army, its position in the EU and UN, a total 290 nuclear weapons, and significant deployments strengthen the country.
5. The United Kingdom
The defense budget of the UK currently stands at $54 billion. It has a regular force of only about 205,000, along with a small air force of 908 aircraft, and an even smaller navy of 66 ships. However, the army of the UK is still a powerful one, with its superior training, equipment and its 160 nuclear weapons being the main strengths. The Royal Navy is planning to put to service HMS Queen Elizabeth, in 2020. It is an aircraft carrier, planned to carry 40 F-35B joint strike fighters around the world.
4. India
India has put its massive population to use, and built an army of a sizeable 3.5 million, including 1.325 million active military. The man force of the army is complemented by almost 16,000 land vehicles which include 3,500 tanks, as well as 1,785 aircraft, alongside nuclear weapons. Its ballistic missiles can hit all of Pakistan or most of China. Its current defense budget stands at $46 billion. It is also the world’s largest military goods importer.
3. China
China’s defense budget officially stands at $126 billion, and, in a relentless drive to invest massively in defense has a formidable size of army, with 2.285 million active front-line personnel and a further 2.3 million reservists, making it the world’s largest land force, along with nearly 25,000 land vehicles. It has another 2,800 aircraft on its air force. China is in possession of about 300 nuclear weapons, alongside 180 different methods of their deployment.
2. Russia
Russia’s defence budget stands at $76.6 billion, and is expected to grow 44% more in the next three years. It has 766,000 active front-line personnel and almost 2.5 million on the reserve force, though the soldiers receive mediocre training. The man force is backed by 15,500 tanks, making Russia the largest tank force in the world, though it is aging, like the other equipment. The country is the world’s leader, with almost 8,500 active nuclear warheads.
1. The United States
The United States spends a whopping $612.5 billion on the military, more than the other nine countries’ budgets combined. It maintains a remarkably large army composed of over 1.4 million soldiers, and a further 800,000 reservists.,19 aircraft carriers. The country also has 7,500 nuclear warheads.
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