Wars and armies are as old as humanity itself. This is best captured by a quote from the Roman soldier and author of military books, Flavius Vegetius - Si vis pacem, para bellum. Translated: if you want peace, prepare for war. We have prepared a comparison of the three largest armies in the world: China, Russia and the USA. Probably no one doubts that these countries are at the top when it comes to the number of soldiers, tanks, ships and aircraft. But would you be able to correctly determine their order? Which country has the largest army and armament and how does Slovakia compare?
Why is it better to say the largest rather than the strongest? The strength of an army does not depend on its size. In the long history of armies and wars, there are plenty of examples where a smaller but better-equipped or morally more resilient army defeated a numerically larger and seemingly stronger opponent.
In modern history, this is without a doubt the Six-Day War (or the Third Arab-Israeli War). A coalition of five massively armed armies (Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon) attacked small Israel in 1967. Instead of a quick defeat, Israel won during a surprising 6 days and even captured the entire Sinai Peninsula from Egypt all the way to the Suez Canal.
When considering the size of an army, many aspects that affect its actual strength must be taken into account, such as morale, training of the troops, condition of equipment, combat experience or quality of command. Official figures presented by states never correspond to the real situation, as they are adjusted for strategic reasons. They are often exaggerated for propagandistic reasons, to intimidate opponents, which is a domain mainly of authoritarian and dictatorial regimes.
1. USA – The Strongest Army in the World
According to the military strength ranking, the militarily strongest country in the world according to the analysis by Global Fire Power is the United States of America. Their superiority is best shown by the navy, specifically aircraft carriers. The USA has 11 in total. Most are of the Nimitz class with a displacement of 100,000 tons, capacity of 50 aircraft and helicopters (depending on the specific type) and a crew of about 5000 people (depending on the type of mission). A new class of aircraft carriers is currently being introduced, the Gerald R. Ford class, of which there is one unit so far. In the number of submarines, it is third in the world with 68 units.
Source: army.mil
Although the United States of America lags behind Russia and China in terms of the number of tanks, its dominant position within the American continent ensures that the possibility of a threat by land is limited.
The US Army is among the largest components of NATO and contributes the largest amounts to the common budget. It also supports other members of the North Atlantic Alliance in terms of training and equipment.
The United States currently has 1.4 million personnel in service and about 440 thousand reservists.
It reigns in aviation technology, as it has over 13,200 pieces of aviation equipment of all types combined. In ground equipment, it continuously alternates for first place with 6,600 tanks and over 45 thousand armored vehicles.
The US military budget for 2022 amounted to an incredible 770 000 000 000$, which enormously exceeds the budgets of all other countries. This is also one of the reasons why the strongest army in the world is the American one.
Soldiers are very highly regarded and appreciated in society in the United States, as evidenced by the fact that out of the 44 American presidents so far, as many as 30 devoted part of their lives to active military service.
Among the most notable were George Washington and Dwight Eisenhower, who took their military careers all the way to five-star general. This rank represents one of the highest possible ranks, especially in the American army. President Theodore Roosevelt also achieved success in his military career, receiving the highest military honor - the Medal of Honor.
2. Russian Federation
The largest country in the world by area has a rich military history behind it. Although from a comprehensive point of view we rank it only second, it still holds one first place. That is the absolute dominance in ground military equipment in the world. However, if we take into account the air force, navy and the number of active soldiers, Russia significantly lags behind the USA's lead. Numbers, however, should always be taken with a huge reserve and further researched. You can have a large army, in which, however, professionals with quality training and experience represent only a small percentage of the total number, with the rest made up of conscripts.
A good example of playing with numbers is the current deployment of Russian tanks in the occupation of Ukraine. The Russian Federation has put hundreds of T-62 tanks into active service. To a layman, that sounds impressive. However, this is archaic equipment manufactured between 1963-1978. Interestingly, the first military deployment of T-62 tanks was the occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1968, and units that also took part in the occupation of Czechia and Slovakia for a long 20 years are now being sent to the Ukrainian front as well.
In terms of budget, Russia holds 3rd place with a sum of 154 billion dollars. In terms of numbers, it holds top positions not only in armored vehicles but also in the submarine fleet. The Soviet Union, as the predecessor of the Russian Federation, balanced out the USA's advantage in aircraft carriers precisely with submarines. It has 70 in service. However, the actual number and combat readiness cannot be verified, since the Russian Federation, for strategic reasons, does not regularly disclose this data.
Russia has 850 thousand people in active service and 250 thousand reservists. To these must be added approximately 250 thousand members of paramilitary units, since the Russian Federation directly employs paramilitary private units such as the Wagner Group. Another difference from the USA is that Russia still has compulsory military service of 2 years, so the number of personnel is replenished and renewed every year also through this component, alongside the professional regular army, reserves, and paramilitary units.
On paper, it has at its disposal over 4,100 pieces of aviation equipment of all kinds, 12,400 tanks and over 30,000 armored personnel carriers of various types.
In all post-Soviet countries, however, the numbers of equipment should be taken with reservation. This also involves old equipment in questionable condition, which remained with the successor states after the collapse of the Soviet Union. They often lack modernization or replacement with more capable models suited to current battlefield requirements.
3. China - People's Republic of China
The second largest military budget for 2022, worth $230,000,000,000, the third largest number of aircraft (over 3200), 6000 battle tanks, 35,000 armored combat vehicles, 2 aircraft carriers and 79 submarines – that is China. As for the number of people active in the military, China has even surpassed the Americans.
The Chinese armed forces have an unprecedented army with the most numerous infantry in the world. According to the latest data from 2022, China has the highest number of active-duty personnel – up to 2,000,000 soldiers. To that must be added 510 thousand reservists and, surprisingly, around 620 thousand members of paramilitary units.
Source: SITA
These numbers should again be taken with a grain of salt, since China does not like to disclose real equipment numbers and often publishes conflicting or differing information about the state of its army and equipment. The paradox is that the figures mentioned above do not concern the official Chinese army. That one has a strength of only a few tens of thousands of people and essentially does not represent a more important component of the armed forces.
The main force is in fact formed by the People's Liberation Army of China, which is the armed component of the Communist Party of China, which has ruled the country for decades. Despite China's economic openness, communism has in fact ruled the country for almost a century. The main task of the PLA, besides the usual tasks typical of every army (defense of territorial integrity, assistance during natural disasters, etc.), is to maintain this state of affairs.
And how does Slovakia compare? - The Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic (OSSR)
Compared to the countries mentioned above, the Slovak army is more modest in size. According to Global Fire Power, we rank 60th in the ranking. Our armed forces have approximately 19,500 professionals and over 4,000 civilian personnel.
These numbers are constantly changing, and an increase in personnel has been initiated. Compulsory military service was abolished on 31.12.2005. For years there have been efforts to launch active reserves. However, this requires a change in the law, since currently only former members of the security forces can join the reserves.
As part of the changes, for example, a new special unit was created, so the 5th Special Forces Regiment in Žilina is no longer the only one. It is the 52nd Airborne Battalion in Trebišov, where last year the first proud male and female candidates received the red berets, the symbol of Slovak paratroopers.
Source: Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic
The ground forces have approximately 20 tanks and 450 units of various types of armored personnel carriers. The air force has 50 aircraft. These are mostly older Soviet-type equipment. Some types were produced under license in Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia had a developed arms industry. Therefore, older domestic weapon models are also in service. In terms of performance, they often surpassed Soviet models, but for political reasons they were not widely adopted across the Warsaw Pact states. A great example is the Vz.58 assault rifle, which in its performance and parameters surpassed the Soviet-introduced AK-47.
At present, besides an increase in personnel numbers, a massive modernization is also underway, which will involve local companies participating in licensed production and maintenance. However, the modernization of our armed forces has been neglected for years, and so large sums of money need to be spent. The complete transformation will take many years.
The replacement of helicopter types has already taken place, where the Soviet Mi-17 type was replaced by the modernized American UH-60M type, in a quantity of 9 units. The replacement of jet fighter aircraft is also underway. The MiG-29 type will be replaced by the American F-16 Block 70/72. The first units have already left the production line, and in the meantime the training of the first pilots and ground personnel has been completed.
F16 Block 70 Source: armadnenoviny.cz
The surveillance radars are also being replaced. Outdated equipment will be replaced by the most modern Israeli 3D surveillance radars Elta EL/M 2084. The ground forces have selected a new type of wheeled transporter, which will be the licensed-produced Finnish Patria AMV type with the Slovak Turra 30 turret. At the same time, the tender for tracked armored transporters has concluded, with the Swedish CV90 in its latest version emerging as the winner.
Patria AMV
Slovakia's membership in NATO is also important. Small countries like us have limited defense capabilities. Collective defense is therefore the best path. An attack on one member of the Alliance is considered an attack on all. Cooperation has always yielded better results than isolationism. Membership in NATO gives us the experience of larger, more modern armies. At the same time, it makes it easier for us to modernize and purchase equipment even in smaller quantities.
Sources: Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic, Army.mil, Siaf.sk, armadninoviny.cz, hnonline.sk, .mod.gov.sk.
