OK, so most people are stuck on the US vs. Russia debate (US - no contest ) but most people would agree that these 2 are still top dog. My question is who is next in the pecking order?

Some contenders (not limited to) : China, the UK, Israel

I am not going to comment at first because I want to see what other people think and I don't want to direct the thread in any direction.

[edit on 4-8-2005 by John bull 1]

Chine.

Shattered OUT...

I would have to say probably either North Korea or China...although the UK aint too bad either...they way those Commies march just trips me out though

Im going with Mexico for the knockout!

Depends. China's got a good army, but their Navy is absolute #.

a little thing about China - they have a lot of nukes, and a huge army (poorly equiped though) but have no real navy to think of and an outdated airforce.

Very true about the navy. They aren't even equipped to invade Taiwan with any success, unless they nuke it first.

I would give my vote to china for the fact they have a 200 million person army even if poorly equiped seeing that there is only 50 million ak-47s ever produced and that is the most produce gun of all time thats still a major army any way you think of it

Originally posted by ShadowXIX
I would give my vote to china for the fact they have a 200 million person army even if poorly equiped seeing that there is only 50 million ak-47s ever produced and that is the most produce gun of all time thats still a major army any way you think of it

-No offense dude - but China doesn't have ANYTHING CLOSE to 200 million in the army - they have about two million.

"Best" is a relative term to say the least. What makes the "best" military to you?
Biggest? China wins.
Most technologically advanced? USA and Great Britain with Russia in a close second. China would probably come in somewhere around 20(my guess).
Biggest budget? USA, no question is number one no matter how you look at it. However do you base the budget numbers? Per-capita? Maybe by landmass?
I guess my point is that it's tough to generalize something as wide scoping as the military et al as "best".

The USA is definatly the strongest in might. But, they rely too heavily on technology. An EM pulse could easily take out half of their forces - maybe more.

Russia is still acting as if it is a superpower. Britain had this problem after WW2 (Suez Crisis). They cannot do any military campaigns anymore - there simply isn't the funding.

China and North Korea have the largest infantry regiments. But without ships to transport, or planes to defend with - they aren't much use. (Unless of course they go on a rampage and march across Asia and Europe - long way to walk though).

Now the UK is good. We have a small cr*ppy budget which needs increasing. But with that, we have the 3rd strongest navy in the world and the SAS.

All of this is irrelevant anyway. There is no way any nuclear nation could declare war on another nuclear nation - this would just obliterate the world. Nuclear weapons are the greatest deterrent... without them there would have definatly been a WW3 by now.

ok - best military here means the ability to both defend and attack in a war against an adversary. This would then encompass raw size, tech, experience, and training. It would include all forms of combat including Intel & recon, direct and indirect ground fighting, A2A and A2G, naval warfare, and power projection.

Basically the ability to wage war and win against any imaginable enemy.

britain does have the most military ground per square feet in the world
im serios we have the most ground owned by the military in square feet in the world
also our army mabye crap but u goto admit if we went on the defensive we would be a tough nut to crack

Originally posted by Humpy
The USA is definatly the strongest in might. But, they rely too heavily on technology. An EM pulse could easily take out half of their forces - maybe more.

Russia is still acting as if it is a superpower. Britain had this problem after WW2 (Suez Crisis). They cannot do any military campaigns anymore - there simply isn't the funding.

China and North Korea have the largest infantry regiments. But without ships to transport, or planes to defend with - they aren't much use. (Unless of course they go on a rampage and march across Asia and Europe - long way to walk though).

Now the UK is good. We have a small cr*ppy budget which needs increasing. But with that, we have the 3rd strongest navy in the world and the SAS.

All of this is irrelevant anyway. There is no way any nuclear nation could declare war on another nuclear nation - this would just obliterate the world. Nuclear weapons are the greatest deterrent... without them there would have definatly been a WW3 by now.

Lets leave the US and Russia out of this ok They have been talked about so many times here I wunna puke

Don't worry about the Nuke deterent - I just want to here opinions....

and BTW - the UK has either the 2nd or 3rd largest military budget in the world, behind only the USA and maybe Russia (I'm confident they are 2nd though)

there was a site i cant rem it but it had the worlds army lists in order and u know what shocked me?
britain just beat the mexican army i mean come on the bloody taiwanese army was better than us
(small note i couldnt c any of the real powers of the world)

That website doesn't sound too reliable

I'd give Britain as a top 5 power in the world easy.

Originally posted by Humpy
The USA is definatly the strongest in might. But, they rely too heavily on technology. An EM pulse could easily take out half of their forces - maybe more.

you do realise all american equipment, weapons and bases and even satellites are heavily sheilded from any em radiation that may come into contact.

your claim is wrong and using an em pulse, it might fry some troops or cause burns to many but it would only damage some weapons but not many and anyways the technology to create a stable emp weapon is not in many countries hands.

hey i come from the country and i have to admit our mod has screwed up YET we still kick ass no matter what

and dont belive what they say about the british army or that being under equiped
i know a marine guy and his squad couldnt get any more equipment given to them litilary for a standard assignment he had 6 smokes about 5 frags and enough ammo to last for 2 days and he coulda asked for more and gotten it
he was only due out for a 4 hour assignment

Originally posted by devilwasp
hey i come from the country and i have to admit our mod has screwed up YET we still kick ass no matter what

and dont belive what they say about the british army or that being under equiped
i know a marine guy and his squad couldnt get any more equipment given to them litilary for a standard assignment he had 6 smokes about 5 frags and enough ammo to last for 2 days and he coulda asked for more and gotten it
he was only due out for a 4 hour assignment

What do you mean by your "mod"?
I would wager they say that they are under equiped to get more funding. Thats what I would do...

I'd have go with the UK. They have carriers, so they can project force, better than anyone, except the US and maybe better than Russia. They have great technology. The US has adopted a lot of it. They have a 1st class intelligence network. They probably have some of the best training around and probably the best special operations force out there. Plus, I think they are professional and have always beat the odds it seems