World War III (No nukes)

I find it funny that people think that the best air force in the world. The world's best pilots are Israeli and it was proved.

Also our tech/military industry is one of the best if not the best in the world.

NATO, whoever controls the oceans controls the world. Would be devastating for everyone though.

?????

Nato

The Philippines gets captured again. It'll be will the pacific theater in ww2 al over again.

@tomofukuoka: you do realize that the 6 day war was in '67 right? And that we annihilated numerous enemy armies, all of them larger and more experienced than our own, in only 6 days. We completely grounded the whole Egyptian Airforce in under one day.

Much more recently, the "untested" Israeli Airforce was tested against the US Airforce in a Demi-battle. Guess who utterly beat the other? Hint: it wasn't the Americans. Also you should know that the USA hates selling aircrafts to Israel because we upgrade them so much. And please remind me when was the last time that USA had an actual aerial fight against an enemy Airforce? The targets that the IDF takes out are much more than "terrorists on donkeys" or whatever you called it. It's terrorists who hide in schools, hospitals, mosques etc with civilians as human shields, and still Israeli pilots take them out with surgical pinpoint accuracy with collateral damage and civilian casualties kept to a minimum. Israeli pilots have not only the advanced and superior tech tgat allows them to do that but also the skill and experience.

And don't even get me started on our intel and anti-terror units.

Total military personel (active + reserve): USA 2.2 MIL. ; RUS 3.1 MIL. ; CN 5 MILL

Total military budget (per year): USA 600 BILL. ; RUS 76 BILL. ; CN 126 BILL

So military budget of US is 3 times higher than russias and chinas combined

but russia and china have 4 times more troops.

Also consider real life applications. ak47 is 4 times cheaper than m16, same goes for tanks. Those little resources which are actually needed for military production, are traded for using russias many natural resources (like gas). So realistically, even tho russia alone spend 8 times less on military than US, everything is much more cheaper and what isnt, is simply traded for. Since natural resources of USA doesnt come close to those of russia, US is left with few options for trade, so it must spend money instead.

So if USA have only 3 times the budget of Russia and China, while rifles and tanks in Russia are 2-4 times cheaper, together with massive russian natural resource exchange for military production purposes, it costs in total around 4 times more to "suit up" soldier in US, than in rus.

Now add to this conclusion the fact that China with Russia together have 4 times more troops (which, like stated before, individually cost 4 times less). So 1 american soldier must kill 4 enemy soldiers, and suiting up those 4 enemy soldiers cost the same as suiting up single american soldier.

Also many people don't understand the difference between new military technology development in US and Russia. In US, majority of field is dominated by private companies developing new technology prototypes using their own resources. After prototype's developed, it is offered to different US military branches and if accepted and tested, a contract is signed for a specific amount. We all have seen a glimpses of modern tech models US have. Per year US government releases about a dozen or more statements about different upgrades and models they're buying. This is not to say that US government doesn't develop secret weapons. It does, but majority of field is filled with this type of action.

In Russia its different. Majority of a field in military development is dominated by government scientists, working on a contract all year around, receiving monthly wages. The benefits of this type of system are obvious.

1. Private companies in US must fund their initial prototype and its development themselves, while in Russia scientists can focus on actual product instead of worrying about starting capital.

2. Private companies in US receive money only when prototype is bought, so they are interested in creating working prototype as fast as possible, while in Russia, gov. scientists can take their time and again, focus on a prototype, since they receive money on a monthly base.

3. Since majority of tech. dev. in US, is made by private companies, they are interested in profit. They must lower the price of a prototype by using cheaper materials so they would out-compete other companies and profit by selling their prototype. In russia, this problem doesnt exist. Gov. scientists dont need to make any compromises on materials just to get prototype to cost less. Since they receive monthly wages, they dont need to out-compete anyone, therefore prototypes are made not for profit, but for efficiency. This is not to say US doesnt employ scientists. It does, but, in comparison, on much smaller scale than russia.

As far as quality of equipment goes, it's almost as good as equipment used in US (only 4 times cheaper). If you compare stats of a standard issue equipment of both countries, you will see that, in general, american equipment is only little bit better, while costs 4 times more. To get that15% or so advantage the costs are doubled. Same goes for most of technology used in US military. All military technology currently used world wide is based on same,earths previous historical prototypes. There are little place for national-diversity in design of currently used tech. So its not like in games, where huge difference can be observed when comparing 2 different pieces of modern tech from different countries. I am saying this as physicist. All rifles are basically based on few universal models, which gets modified by nation to nation, therefore base difference is small.

And my last point- After soviet union broke down, russia claimed all its debt, foreign lands and all the nuke soviet union produced. On top of that, when US started to build anti-missile net around Russia, Putin simply tripled production of nukes, as a counter measures. As of now, Russia alone owns more than a half of all the nukes there is on globe. If you add china and north korea to formula, US is facing huge majority of all the nuclear technology produced currently on earth. Reason for this, is again, Russias natural resources. Most of materials russia needs are produced/gathered in russia, like uranium. Nuke technology is expensive and requires specific materials. USA have no where near as much natural resources as russia, therefore US can obtain required materials mostly by spending actual money.

In this article, I talked mostly about positive aspects of russian military and negative aspects of US military. This is not to say, that russia dont have any negative aspects or that US dont have positive ones. I also did not include psychological analysis of average soldier and their leaders in both armies. American soldier is more likely to come from a good background, from un-abusive financially stable family and with good record. Russian soldier is more likely to be bullied from childhood, having used drugs at some point or another, being involved in criminal activity in the past, and generally coming from abusive, poor families, therefore learning to survive alone from early childhood. As far as psychology is concerned, people like that are more likely to perform better.

NATO

You!....I like you.

@tomofukuoka: I don't think that Pakistan has the tech and experience Israel does. I know it's just fantasy but you were severely misinformed on the IDF so I simply explained some facts to you, is all.

I also find it funny when people say that America has the best armed forces in the world when it has never been tested.

Vietnam > America (Anyone with half a brain would agree that you got your asses kicked)

Iraq/Afghanistan > America (You underestimated a smaller country....Seriously....SERIOUSLY bad idea)

Somalia > America

Nicaragua > America

Britain > America (War Of 1812, Britain wanted the occupation of Canada. They got it, they also burnt down your white house,(That is why it's called the White House they had to white wash it to hide the fire damage).

North Korea > America (America went in their to kick some North Korean ass, that didn't work because China was backing them. So they settled with a ceasefire).

If world war 3 happens , batman will be victorious .

Not seeing how nato can outright beat the USSR in a 'stomp' without at least threatening them with nukes. Sure, we outclass them and on neutral ground we'd win, but *winning* a war takes much more than just smacking around the troops sent at you. I don't really see us having the manpower to occupy half the world and defend our own territories at the same time, You'd have to get the opposition leaders to surrender, some of which are notoriously stubborn. I guess we'd do it eventually but it'd take longer than people are suggesting. Taking over and successfully occupying a country with several billion people who really don't like you isn't exactly a walk in the park, and that's just China.

Thanks.

NATO. Russia is the only factor for the soviets, and while they are huge, the would be outmatched by multiple advanced countries (USA, France, Britain, Germany, etc.)

Nato

A world war is created when large political powers fight for control of resources, territory or influence. The fighting state is triggered by lack of willingness to compromise, and the willingness to compromise is a function of the relative power of the adversaries.

The "cold war" did not deteriorate into a real war because the US and the USSR felt matched in power, but several small wars-by-proxy were waged when one side felt achievement through force is possible: in Afghanistan, for example, the Soviets invaded expecting low opposition, resulting in the US funding of the Mujahadin/Taliban. A war in Europe between NATO and the USSR didn't break because it was deemed un-win-able.

The second and first world wars were a result of one block expecting an easy win. The commanders of the Imperial German army in WW 1 expected to be in Paris within few weeks.

In today's world, the strengthening of new blocks along with their armies, such as the Chinese army, the resurgent Russian army, and so forth, is accompanied with a dwindling and overstretched US army, with reduced NATO support and no European army whatsoever. It is therefore to be expected that the rising blocks will consider military success to be more likely, resulting in applying military power on other powers.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

You're assuming that the world is ready to work together and utilize our resources. I wish that were true, but only a blind man could see that in today society! There is so much terrorism and disagreement among countries. Arguments between dictatorship, democracy, communism, and even if the country leaders got along, would the civilians of each group accept it, or would their be revolutions? We are not ready to "join hands, share ideas and work together". As much as we all know it'd be the ideal state for the world, we're not there, which means your theory as to why it won't happen also is not there. So it doesnt exist. We're still at a large threat for WWIII

This battle is totally wrong to start off with. First off, Nato would totally win right now because there is no such thing as USSR and China and Russia's milltitary would have trouble matching the US let alone all of Nato.

If we are talking about before the USSR collapsed and somewhere during the cold war era, then the USSR and the rest of the communists would rape the world soooo hard. There was a reason operation unthinkable didn't happen. Even with the combined power of American troops and the European Union and what was left of German troops and technology their efforts would have been futile against bringing down USSR. At that time the USSR was the sole superpower at number one and USA was debatably number 2. The USSR was a powerhouse that basically controlled half of Europe and much of the other parts of the world.

China is aggressively building artificial islands in the disputed Spratly Islands. The construction includes runways and port facilities that could harbor military planes and warships. Islands in the region are also claimed by the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam, who have all protested against China's expansion.

Last week, a U.S. military plane ignored repeated warning from the PLA to fly a reconnaissance mission over the disputed islands. U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has refused to recognize artificial islands as "maritime zones control by a nation." He said Washington was determined to protect the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, as is allowed under International conventions.

The United Sates solostomps

World War 3 is a global military conflict that begins on September 1, 2029 and ended on November 11, 2036. Before the war tensions were rising between many countries, and each country was trying different ways to prevent their country from falling into economic collapse while also trying to defend themselves from invasion. Countries such as Iran began breaking off diplomatic ties with other countries such as Saudi Arabia. Syria is undergoing a huge civil war and asks help from Russia and China, but USA says that if Russia and it's allies openly support Syria, the USA will take actions. Meanwhile, SCO friendly states of southeast asia joins SCO. NATO friendly states of southeast Asia prepares for war. In North America, Mexico receives support from SCO to help win the Mexican Drug War and Mexico becomes an SCO friendly state. The world knows that another World War is about to begin, but didn't know who will started it. Meanwhile, Turkey is undergoing a border clashes against Syria. Countries prepare themselves for a global war.

Course of the war

2029

The war begins on September 1, when North Korea try to invades South Korea in an attempt to unify the two Koreas again. The United States declares war on North Korea hours later. And all of NATO declares war on North Korea 2 weeks later . China tried to stay out of the war but eventually declared war on NATO. Now it's NATO vs SCO. North Korea launches a blitzkrieg against South Korea and captures key points quickly. A few days past and war breaks out in the Middle East when Iran declares war on Israel. Saudi Arabia declares war on Iran. Turkey begins the invasion of Syria supported by Iraq. Iran invades Iraq as a gate-way to help Syria. Most arab countries won't help Israel unless Israel gives independence to Palestine and Israel agrees.

2030

War broke out in Southeast Asia when Myanmar invaded Thailand. India invades Myanmar and Myanmar's army was forced to retreat from Thailand.To prevent Myanmar being invaded from 2 directions, Laos and Cambodia invaded Thailand While China invaded India. Pakistan declared war on India while China invaded Taiwan. A huge naval battle occured in the South China Sea. Reinforcements had arrive to help South Korea ,but the Chinese troops overwhelmed South Korean troops. In the Middle East, Iran had invaded the United Arab Emirates as a gate-way to Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile in South America, Venezuela had invaded and conquered Colombia. Brazil had reacted by invading and reconquered Columbia's lost territories and Venezuela surrendered.

2031

Because of Venezuela's defeat, Chile and Argentina invaded Peru, Bolivia, Brazil in a hope to retake Venezuela but it failed and South America is now under NATO alligned control. Iran has successfully invaded southern Saudi Arabia but failed to conquer Iraq. Russia and it's allies are invading the northern part of the Middle East to gain access to Iran and to invade Europe from 2 directions. In eastern Europe heavy fighting occures between NATO vs SCO. In southeast Asia, India had invaded eastern Myanmar so Myanmar surrendered, but then Thailand was losing fast so Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singaporean troops came in to help. Philippines is helping Taiwan defending itself from Chinese invasion. In Korea a stalemate occurred and a ceasefire is declared. In North America, a naval battle occurred between Russia and United States but because the US navy is stretched thin and is nearly wiped out by China, Russia wins. China has invaded and conquer Hawaii and is planning to distract American troops to the west coast so Russia can invade Alaska. China is planning to invade South America as a distraction, then prepare for an invasion on California.

2032

Russia had invaded Alaska and was advancing deeper into North America. Egypt had invaded and conquer Libya and Sudan. Iran had been advancing deeper into Saudi Arabia but was soon blocked by Saudi Arabian and Israeli troops and was undergoing heavy fighting against Iraq at its borders. South Korea invaded and successfully conquer North Korea and the countries reunited at last. India is holding strong against China and Pakistan. Southeast Asia is now under NATO aligned control. China conquers Taiwan and had then began invading the Philippines but failed in conquering Indonesia and Australia. NATO forces had breakthrough the line in eastern Europe and is now invading western Russia.

2033

A stalemate occurred in the fight in western Russia. Saudi Arabia is back to it's original borders and is preparing the invasion of southern Iran. The Russian advancement in North America is halted and a stalemate is declared. Australia and NATO friendly states in southeast Asia is halting Pakistani-Chinese advance in India and because of that USA has retaken Hawaii. Korean and NATO forces land full-scale invasion of Manchuria. Russian forces were advancing slowly in the Middle East. The SCO economy was running down and riots were becoming more common and harder to control.

2034

Iraq and Saudi Arabia invaded Iran and is making progresses fast. SCO troops in India are retreating because of massive reinforcements from NATO friendly states. After heavy battles and a lots of cascualties, the USA had finally retaken Alaska with the help from Canada and is now preparing an invasion of eastern Russia, NATO forces are now advancing even deeper into Russia from the west. The Philippines retake lost territories and capture Taiwan. SCO was then on the brink of defeat and Russia was retreating from the Middle East. The capital of Russia was moved from Moscow to an unknown location. NATO friendly states invaded China from southeast Asia but was met with heavy resistance but progress is being made slowly.

2035

With help India had gotten back to its original territories and Pakistan immedately surrendered. Saudi Arabia and Iraq had almost capture Iran but Iran has sworn that they will never surrender. Central Asia is invaded by NATO friendly states. USA and Canada invades eastern Russia. NATO was getting ever deeper into western Russia and had captured Moscow. Many SCO alligned countries have surrendered. SCO is in a desperate situation. Turkey invaded Russia from the south. India ,with Australia's reinforcements, invaded China from the west and is making progess fast.

2036

Central Asia had been captured and Russia was crushed in a three front war. Iran had been captured. China surrenderd after having large parts captured by India, Australia,and Japan. Russia was then alone in the war and finally surrendered on November 11.

2037 and Beyond

After the war was over, NATO nations had installed democratic governments in all the SCO aligned countries and peace and stability (mainly in the war torn, Arabic countries in the middle east) had finally been achieved. Many new countries declared independence from Russia and China and some merged with nearby ones (ie. Tibet, parts of Siberia,Taiwan,Inner Mongolia,ect.) Afterwards United Nations was reinstated and the world entered a great era of rebuild, peace, and democracy.

Totally misleading, This War will be short and sweet like a Donkey's Gallop.! It's Amazing how man continues to leave GOD out of the scenario and "GOD, FACTORS BIG TIME" especially in these last days leading up to The 7 Year Tribulation. The other factor left out of course..."ISRAEL" who is the epicentre of ALL The World's UNWARRANTED Hatred...led by the Antichrist...waiting in the wings, to walk out on centre stage.

The next factor to take into account is...Countries do not need to drop atomic bombs on each other to cause the worst case scenario, all they need to do is "ACCURATELY" drop bombs onto Nuclear Power Stations in that Country...from the vantage point of the sea, air or from their own Country if in range...Russia, China and North Korea are all actively together in stalking and staking out America and Europe/Great Britain and of course Israel.

Don't Forget Germany and Turkey who have yoked themselves together with Satan's Seat...! Will Turkey be requesting that back oneday soon? or will they end up being bosom buddies bent on Israel's Destruction?

The question is who will get attacked first America or Israel or both at the same time...? Israel will be Divinely Protected at this time but America will suffer, as she has gone against GOD and ISRAEL, her fate is sealed (especially with "O" in the hot seat) like all those who come against GOD'S CHOSEN...next will be...The Rest Of The World.!

For Nation Will Rise Up Against Nation And Kingdom Against Kingdom And There Shall Be Earthquakes In Divers Places And There Shall Be Famines And Pestilences And There Will Be Fearful Sights And Great Signs From Heaven,These Are The Beginnings Of Sorrows. Matthew 24:7 10 Mark 13:8 Luke 21:10

The Only Way To Prepare For What Is Coming... IS To Accept Jesus Christ As Your Lord And Saviour...Repent Now! Today And Cover Yourself With "The Lamb's Spilt Holy Blood" That Washes You Clean From Your Sin's Through Prayer And Acceptance of His Death on That Cross At Calvary For Your Sins.

Salvation Prayer

Dear God in heaven, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I acknowledge to You that I am a sinner, and I am sorry for my sins and the life that I have lived; I need your forgiveness.

I believe that your only begotten Son Jesus Christ shed His precious blood on the cross at Calvary and died for my sins, and I am now willing to turn from my sin.

You said in Your Holy Word, Romans 10:9 that if we confess the Lord our God and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we shall be saved.

Right now I confess Jesus as the Lord of my soul. With my heart, I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. This very moment I accept Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior and according to His Word, right now I am saved.

Thank you Jesus for your unlimited grace which has saved me from my sins. I thank you Jesus that your grace never leads to license, but rather it always leads to repentance. Therefore Lord Jesus transform my life so that I may bring glory and honor to you alone and not to myself.

Thank you Jesus for dying for me and giving me eternal life.' Amen.

This. The death toll would be surreal. Between potential biological and chemical weapons, there's a good chance everyone dies even without nukes. Even just the amount of conventional bombings that would occur would kill millions. It'd be unthinkable to even remain neutral in a WW3 scenario, or at least exceedingly difficult. There would be so many civilian casualties on all fronts all over the world.

bullsh!t. the US made a killing (hehe) during WWI

Global Warfare: The Role of US Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM)

Global military operations are coordinated out of US Strategic Command Headquarters (USSTRATCOM) at the Offutt Air Force base in Nebraska, in liaison with the regional commands of the unified combatant commands (e.g.. US Central Command in Florida, which is responsible for the Middle East-Central Asian region, See map below) as well as coalition command units in Israel, Turkey, the Persian Gulf and the Diego Garcia military base in the Indian Ocean. Military planning and decision making at a country level by individual allies of US-NATO as well as “partner nations” is integrated into a global military design including the weaponization of space.

Under its new mandate, USSTRATCOM has a responsibility for “overseeing a global strike plan” consisting of both conventional and nuclear weapons. In military jargon, it is slated to play the role of “a global integrator charged with the missions of Space Operations; Information Operations; Integrated Missile Defense; Global Command & Control; Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance; Global Strike; and Strategic Deterrence…. ”

USSTRATCOM’s responsibilities include: “leading, planning, & executing strategic deterrence operations” at a global level, “synchronizing global missile defense plans and operations”, “synchronizing regional combat plans”, etc. USSTRATCOM is the lead agency in the coordination of modern warfare.

In January 2005, at the outset of the military deployment and build-up directed against Iran, USSTRATCOM was identified as “the lead Combatant Command for integration and synchronization of DoD-wide efforts in combating weapons of mass destruction.” (Michel Chossudovsky, Nuclear War against Iran, Global Research, January 3, 2006).

What this means is that the coordination of a large scale attack on Iran, including the various scenarios of escalation in and beyond the broader Middle East Central Asian region would be coordinated by USSTRATCOM.

Map: US Central Command’s Area of Jurisdiction

NATO. By far the best military.

I'd also like to raise an issue, China sells a vast majority of its wares to the US. Without the US to sell to, they're going down the drain. They barely have enough food ( they have to eat dogs and cats ) to feed their population during peace times.

Russia isn't doing great if cut off from european trade either.

agree murica too much

@oznaug:

''The war begins on September 1, when North Korea try to invades South Korea in an attempt to unify the two Koreas again. The United States declares war on North Korea hours later. And all of NATO declares war on North Korea 2 weeks later .''

That's PIS against the US. With literally no country supporting NK, the US would conquer it in a few days at best. They have no reason to delay the attack considering how weak NK is by comparison, not to mention the US is not alone and NK has no nukes to threaten with.

tell that to victims families.

Also US is the real cancer in this world,

US puts its nose in other countries, causing them suffering for decades,

US, using CIA and Military, manipulates many governments in the world, by protecting tyrants, plotting coup d'etats, causing instability, manipulating medias, in order to fulfil their own greed in power and money, not even for the sake of their american people, but for the very few big heads, a.k.a the big companies, banks and zionists, who rule world's economy and who manipulates and funds every election campaign in US and other important countries in europe.

this world is enslaved by them, and people are too stupid to realise it

You sent 150,000 American soldiers to deal with Vietnam. 58,000 died within a year.

The rest, you should know about.

agent orange exists

"Agent Orange, which contained the chemical dioxin, was the most commonly used of the herbicide mixtures, and the most effective. It was later revealed to cause serious health issues–including tumors, birth defects, rashes, psychological symptoms and cancer–among returning U.S. servicemen and their families as well as among the Vietnamese population."

NATO cannot curbstomp, but they still barely win. As oznaug has explained, everything's cheaper in Russia with little difference in quality.

No they wouldn't.

These 5 Nations could win WW3.

5: India: $46.1 billion spent in 2013; 2.5% of GDP

Personnel: 4,768,407

Air: 1080 combat planes; 140 attack helicopters

Sea: Approximately 317,725 tons

Nuke estimate: up to 100

India’s current military spending ranks only 8^th worldwide, with France, Japan and even Saudi Arabia spending about $10 billion more in 2013. So what makes the former British colony such a promising candidate for future military supremacy, even more so than its colonial ancestor?

A 2007 report by investment bank Goldman Sachs found India’s accelerating growth could see its economy surpassing Britain within a decade; another report just last year by global information group 'IHS Jane’s' specifically predicts India’s military budget will overtake Britain’s by 2017, based on current trends. Indeed, the data shows Britain, though somewhat insulated from the Euro debt crisis, will see cuts where India sees boosts in long-term defense spending. India is poised to catch up—perhaps even surpass—Western military powers in the near future. Though not all currently active, India also has the second highest number of troops worldwide, largely from massive paramilitary groups who could potentially bolster the Indian Army in the event of global conflict.

4: United Kingdom: $60.8 billion spent in 2013; 2.5% of GDP

Personnel: 387,570

Air: 222 combat aircraft, 153 attack helicopters

Sea: Approximately 367,860 tons

Nuke estimate: Fewer than 160 deployed, 225 total

Britain’s military reputation is notable for its historic romanticism; Her Majesty’s exemplary Armed Forces with her past claims to the best navy in the world don’t quite capture the reality of global military power today, though. In truth, the Royal Navy is the fifth biggest, and the Royal Air Force—the oldest independent air force in the world—doesn’t place in the top ten. But the UK is still by most measures the second biggest Western military power at the moment (though some might argue for France), and their military spending ranked fourth worldwide in 2013. We had a tough time ourselves deciding whether France, Germany or Japan would have better chances in this virtual World War, but here’s why we settled with the UK:

According to the 2013 annual World Economic League Table report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, the U.K. is on path to becoming the largest Western European economy ahead of Germany by around 2030. It’s conceivable that, by this time, the effects of the current EU debt crisis will have left most European economies trailing behind rising powers like India and Brazil, while the UK—retaining its independence from the Eurozone—remains insulated from long-term economic slowdown. With only about 2.5% of Britain’s GDP being currently spent on defense, there is feasibly much room for rapid militarization in the event of rising tensions. Close historical and ideological ties with the US doesn’t hurt, either.

3: United States of America: $682 billion spent in in 2013, 4.4% of GDP

Personnel: 2,291,910

Air: 3,318 combat aircraft; 6,417 attack helicopters

Sea: Approximately 3,415,893 tons

Nuke estimate: Approximately 1654 deployed, 5,113 total

How can we possibly have more faith in any other military than the United States’? America’s finest are the very best, most technologically advanced. And we’ve all heard that nauseating statistic that the US spends more on its military than the next 10 superpowers combined. So why, why is America sitting at just third place?

Let’s play devil’s advocate and assume a third World War doesn’t happen until sometime at the end of the century, and then consider the following:

While the US spent an enormous $682 billion on defense in 2013, IHS Jane’s forecasts a 2014 budget of around $574.9 billion. While that’s still massive—reliably more than the next eight-or-so countries combined—a single-year drop of over $100 billion (twice the entire defense budget of the UK, give-or-take) is far from insignificant. Like Western Europe, America’s growing debt problems and increasingly unpopular defense spending appear to be causing some penny-pinching as of late; predictions showing a solid slashing by a near-sixth of its military spending.

Yes, that might not mean much when you already have the largest navy and combat air force in the world by a longshot, and a frightening nuclear arsenal, but then there’s also this to consider…

2: The Russian Federation: $90.7 billion spent in 2013; 4.4% of GDP

Personnel: 3,250,000

Air: 1,900 combat aircraft; 1,655 attack helicopters

Sea: Approximately 845,730 tons

Nuke estimate: About 1,480 deployed, 4,502 total

Thanks in part to the accelerating activity of Russia, the third highest defense spender in the world, global military spending is now growing for the first time in five years. Like India, Russia’s budget appears to be doing the opposite of virtually all Western military budgets, including the United States’, and its recent surpassing of Britain is pretty strong evidence of the trend.

IHS Jane’s Annual Defense Budgets review predicts Russia’s military spending to grow by over 44% over the next three years, providing a much-desired revitalization of Russia’s military training and equipment. With already the second biggest navy and air force in the world, and the second biggest nuclear arsenal, few doubt Russia’s plans to remain a major military power for quite some time.

1: The People’s Republic of China: $166 billion spent in 2013; 2% of GDP

Personnel: 7,054,000

Air: 1,500 combat aircraft; ? helicopters

Sea: Approximately 708,086 tons

Deployed nuke estimate: Maybe 240 total — Unknown

China’s economic growth since the late 70s has been all but totally unprecedented; what’s more impressive than China’s sheer size today is the speed at which it got there, and there’s something to be said about that speed.

Despite being stunted by serious social problems and environmental issues, the Chinese government have demonstrated an admirable capacity to push through ongoing waves of economic and social reform. They've proven highly effective in developing the economy and improving the living standard of many Chinese citizens. For most analysts, the big question about China’s growing prominence is whether any underlying tensions will come to the fore; will the government lose control of its population if the government's economic growth leaves more of the citizens behind?

In the way of military supremacy, how much do these questions matter? Some might say an unhappy population can’t coexist with a truly robust and competitive military; some might say the single-party government can’t retain legitimacy at all in the face of an increasingly globalized (even Westernized) world. But here’s what the data has to say:

- The 2013 World Economic League Table report predicts China’s Gross Domestic Product to surpass the United States’ in 2028. China currently spends only 2% of its GDP - versus America's 4.4% - on military growth.

- A 2011 International Institute for Strategic Studies report found that given current spending trends, China will reach military equality, or parity, with the US in just 15-20 years. This was before China increased its spending to $166 billion last year.

And with the Chinese Communist Party managing the country behind closed doors, how much do we really know about the Chinese military? The full extent of their strength remains to be seen, but with the figures as they are it's possible that China could defeat America if push came to shove in the realm of tenuous China-U.S. relations, in the event of international conflict.

Now that we've ranked the 5 future potential World War III competitors by their military trajectories, let’s consider a few more imminent ways a global conflict could arise in the 21st century...

It's hilarious that you think anyone in Estonia would actually fight along side USSR.

Canada Ftw!

Well, it won't be India who starts the war for sure since India hasn't invaded any country in its history. And if the war starts, India has more and better allies than China like Russia Japan And USA. Yes USA. USA sees China as its greatest rival and India is one of its great allies.

India also has neck to neck army , air force and navy as compared to China. And above all its a democracy while China is a colonist country because of which it has a lot more enemies than India , which hardly have any enemies.

Peace out

LMAO since when Turkey is an ISIS supporter. They helped battling against ISIS more than most countries who were supposedly be in the line with NATO