World is constantly under the fear of wars. Battlefields and artillery have evolved. Governments are spending millions of currencies on taking care of their armed forces. Militaries are ranked as the most powerful based on the military might, finance, logistical capability and geography. Best military converts a country into a superpower with a dominant position that possess the ability to exert influence or power on a global scale. The most powerful militaries of the world are of the countries Japan, India, U.S.A., China and Russia. This article deals with the differences between militaries of U.S.A., Russia and China.

United States Armed Forces

United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States of America. It has 6 wings or service branches: Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force and Coast Guard.

Russian Armed Forces

The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are the military forces of Russia. It has 6 wings: Ground Forces, Aerospace Forces, Navy, Airborne Troops, Strategic Missile Forces and Special Operations Forces.

People’s Liberation Army

People’s Liberation Army is the armed force of the People’s Republic of China and the Communist Party of China. It has 5 service branches namely Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, Rocket Force and Strategic Support Force. People’s Liberation Army is the world’s largest military force and the fastest modernising militaries.

United States Armed Forces Vs Russian Armed Forces Vs People’s Liberation Army

Head

United States Armed Forces’ commander-in-chief is president of the United States. Presently, the commander-in-chief id President Donald Trump. He is responsible for making military policies with the help of Department of Defence and Department of Homeland Security.

Russian Armed Forces’ is headed by the supreme commander-in-chief. Supreme commander-in-chief is the President of Russia. Presently, President Vladimir Putin is the head of Russian Armed Forces. He works in co-ordination with the Ministry of Defence and Chief of the General Staff.

People’s Liberation Army is headed by the Chairman of the Central Military Commission. Presently, General Secretary and President Xi Jinping is the commander-in-chief of People’s Liberation Army. He takes help of Vice-Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Minister of National Defense, Chief of the Joint Staff Department and Director of the Political Work Department.

Headquarters

Headquarters of United States Armed Forces are in The Pentagon, Arlington County, Virginia.

Russian Armed Forces’ headquarters are in Ministry of Defence, Khamovniki District, Moscow.

People’s Liberation Army’s headquarters are in Central Military Commission, Beijing.

Personnel

United States Armed Forces is ranked 3rd in its active personnel count. 1380895 soldiers are active in the United States Armed Forces. About 2 million people reach military age annually in the U.S. In addition to this, 845600 soldiers are kept in reserve and 210000 are already deployed.

Russian Armed Forces have 900000 active personnel. It is ranked 4th in its active personnel count. It has a reserve personnel of 2000000. A Russian resident of age between 18 to 27 can apply for joining Russian Armed Forces.

People’s Liberation Army has 2035000 active personnel and 510000 reserved personnel. It is ranked 1st in its active personnel count. Conscription to the Army is compulsory by Law; although it is not usually enforced. A resident of China above 20 years of age can join the People’s Liberation Army.

Budget

U.S. government spends 3.42% of GDP on its military. The annual budget is 21.5 billion US dollars. U.S. is ranked 1st in its high budget provided to the armed forces.

Russian government spends 3.9% of GDP on its armed forces. The annual budget is 65.1 billion US dollars. Russia is ranked 4th in its expenditure on its army.

People’s Liberation Army spends 1.3% of its GDP on People’s Liberation Army. Its budget is 177.6 billion dollars. It is ranked as 2nd in its expenditure on army.

Wars fought

United States Armed Forces have played a decisive role in the glorious history of the U.S. It has fought numerous wars. Some of them are Indian Wars, Barbary Wars, American Civil war, World War I & II, Russian Civil War, Spanish-American War, Boxer Rebellion, etc.

Russian Armed Forces has fought the following wars: Georgian Civil War, War in Abkhazia, Transnistria War, East Prigorodny conflict, Tajikistani Civil War, First Chechen War, War of Dagestan, Russo-Georgian War, Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War, etc.

The People’s Republic of China has fought the Chinese Civil War, Battle of Chamdo, Korean War, Taiwan Strait Crisis, China-Burma Border campaign, Xinjiang conflict, Sino-Indian war, Vietnam war, etc.

Order of seniority

Department of Defense has made a regulation to set an order of seniority for various components of the U.S. The personnel are arranged in the following order: cadets of U.S. Military Academy, midshipmen of U.S. Naval Academy, cadets of U.S. Coast Guard Academy, cadets of U.S. Air Force Academy, cadets of U.S. Coast Guard Academy, midshipmen of U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, United States Army, United States Marine Corps, United States Navy, United States Air Force, United States Coast Guard and so on.

Nuclear Weapons

The exact number of nuclear weapons is a secret as it is a matter of national security. Following are only researched guess figures.

The United States possesses nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. It is the only country to use nuclear weapons in an army combat. An atomic bomb was used by the U.S. in World War II in 1945 on Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The United Nations has the second largest number of nuclear weapons in the world. It has current stockpile of 6185 warheads in 2019.

Russian Federation possesses approximately 50000 nuclear warheads. Russia and the U.S. accounts for more than 90% of world’s nuclear weapons. It has an arsenal of 39967 tons of chemical weapons. Russia is a part of the Biological Weapons Convention and the Chemical Weapons Convention.

The People’s Republic of China has chemical and nuclear weapons. According to a new information, China is developing kinetic-energy weapons, high-powered lasers, high-powered microwave weapons, particle-beam weapons and electromagnetic pulse.

Conclusion

Russian Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces and People’s Liberation Army have personnel, expertise and weapons that can destroy the earth if any of them enter into a World War. People’s Liberation Army has huge global power projection capabilities and significant regional power. It is rightly regarded as a potential military superpower. United States Armed Forces is a top undisputed military power in the world. Russian Armed Forces are no step behind its allies. All these military superpowers bring us to one oxymoron question, “Which is greater, War or Peace?”