Despite all of the other advances made for the modern battlefield, air superiority is still a top priority to war planners in any theater.

LIKE Global Firepower on Facebook:

The GFP Top 10:

1. United States

2. Russia

3. China

4. India

5. United Kingdom

6. France

7. South Korea

8. Germany

9. Japan

10. Turkey

The aircraft received its baptism by fire in World War 1, having since

evolved to the mounts of today utilizing stealth, supercruise technology

and precision-guided munitions. For the purposes of the GFP ranking,

both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft are taken into account. However,

systems on order heading into 2015 are NOT taken into account.

Total Aircraft strength data through 2015.

1

13,892

2

3,429

3

2,860

4

1,905

5

1,613

6

1,412

7

1,264

8

1,107

9

1,020

10

940

11

936

12

914

13

804

14

760

15

749

16

684

17

675

18

663

19

605

20

573

21

531

22

497

Because having the most people matters not in a business where contenders must be fit to fight.

LIKE Global Firepower on Facebook:

The GFP Top 10:

1. United States

2. Russia

3. China

4. India

5. United Kingdom

6. France

7. South Korea

8. Germany

9. Japan

10. Turkey

Wars ultimately come down to manpower and, from this, the portion of the

population that is actually able to assist in the war effort (able-bodied

souls for fighting, production, etc...). Manpower Fit for Military Service is

used by the GFP final ranking to further refine a nation's overall military

strength.

Manpower Fit for Military Service data through 2013.

1

618,588,627

2

489,571,520

3

120,022,084

4

107,538,660

5

83,835,650

6

75,326,989

7

66,102,179

8

48,882,415

9

46,812,553

10

43,930,753

11

41,570,732

12

41,503,949

13

40,707,659

14

39,566,497

15

35,305,381

16

35,005,326

17

29,538,413

18

27,490,939

19

24,757,344

20

24,035,131

21

23,747,168

Active military personnel form the spearhead of any military ground engagement.

LIKE Global Firepower on Facebook:

The GFP Top 10:

1. United States

2. Russia

3. China

4. India

5. United Kingdom

6. France

7. South Korea

8. Germany

9. Japan

10. Turkey

Active military personnel are those "ready-to-fight" elements. This listing

is for the purposes of detailing the total active military manpower available

to any one country today - these forces naturally becoming the initial

elements that would be committed to combat.

Active Military Personnel data through 2014.

1

2,333,000

2

1,400,000

3

1,325,000

4

766,055

5

690,000

6

624,465

7

617,000

8

545,000

9

512,000

10

476,000

11

468,500

12

444,520

13

412,000

14

410,500

15

406,000

16

400,000

17

327,000

18

320,000

19

306,000

20

290,000

The multi-role Frigate naval vessel type has evolved into a fleet protector and submarine hunter.

LIKE Global Firepower on Facebook:

The GFP Top 10:

1. United States

2. Russia

3. China

4. India

5. United Kingdom

6. France

7. South Korea

8. Germany

9. Japan

10. Turkey

The Frigate ship type is a multi-role, general purpose ocean-going vessel

utilized for fleet surface ship protection against enemy surface

combatants or incoming aerial threats. Frigates are outfitted with

advanced sonar, sensory and tracking systems that allow her crew to

hunt down enemy submarines. Nearly all notable naval powers make use

of the multi-role frigate in their inventory.

For the purposes of the GFP final ranking, landlocked nations are NOT

penalized for the lack of a standing naval force. However, nations with a

standing navy ARE penalized for lack of certain naval assets.

Frigates strength data through 2015.

1

47

2

22

3

21

4

16

5

15

6

14

7

14

8

13

9

12

10

12

11

12

12

11

13

11

14

11

15

10

16

10

17

10

18

9

19

9

20

8

21

7

Tank strength continues to be the primary symbol of power for any modern land army.

LIKE Global Firepower on Facebook:

The GFP Top 10:

1. United States

2. Russia

3. China

4. India

5. United Kingdom

6. France

7. South Korea

8. Germany

9. Japan

10. Turkey

For the purposes of the final GFP ranking total tank strength totals include

only Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) and not tank destroyers (TDs) and light

tanks. Systems on order heading into 2015 are NOT taken into account.

Tank strength data through 2014.

1

15,398

2

9,150

3

8,848

4

6,464

5

4,624

6

4,500

7

4,200

8

4,170

9

3,778

10

2,924

11

2,809

12

2,381

13

2,300

14

2,005

15

1,665

16

1,658

17

1,556

18

1,470

19

1,260

20

1,250

21

1,215

While the tank remains the spearhead of the modern land army, the armored fighting vehicle follows to help claim territory.

LIKE Global Firepower on Facebook:

The GFP Top 10:

1. United States

2. Russia

3. China

4. India

5. United Kingdom

6. France

7. South Korea

8. Germany

9. Japan

10. Turkey

For the purpose of the GFP ranking, the "armored fighting vehicle" (AFV)

is represented by Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) and Infantry

Fighting Vehicles (IFVs). Examples include the American Bradley Infantry

Fighting Vehicle and the Soviet/Russian MT-LB series. While generally

tracked in nature, AFVs can also showcase road wheels along multiple

axles as in the American Stryker. Systems on order heading into 2015 are

NOT taken into account.

AFV strength data through 2014.

1

41,062

2

31,298

3

13,949

4

10,185

5

9,669

6

8,217

7

7,550

8

6,972

9

6,863

10

6,704

11

5,948

12

5,869

13

5,472

14

5,173

15

4,788

16

4,510

17

4,350

18

4,209

19

4,100

20

3,796

21

3,150

National airpower is gauged by the number of - and quality of - fighter-type aircraft in inventory.

LIKE Global Firepower on Facebook:

The GFP Top 10:

1. United States

2. Russia

3. China

4. India

5. United Kingdom

6. France

7. South Korea

8. Germany

9. Japan

10. Turkey

The fighter aircraft is the principle mount of any modern air arm. Long

evolved from its basic origins in World War 1, the fighter of today is a

multi-role design capable of engaging both air and land targets with equal

precision. Missiles and advanced scanning allow for beyond-visual-range

engagements while rotary cannon finish off opponents at close-range.

The Fifth Generation Fighter is currently embodied by the Lockheed F-22

"Raptor" with competitors arising in both Russia and China. Fourth

Generation Fighters remain a capable - and cost-effective - battlefield

component.

Total Fighter strength data through 2015.

1

2,207

2

1,066

3

769

4

629

5

458

6

399

7

398

8

387

9

289

10

288

11

283

12

242

13

223

14

217

15

207

16

207

17

155

18

137

19

119

20

117

Attack aircraft can be used to neutralize many of the enemy's capabilities - air defense, industry and infrastructure to name a few.

LIKE Global Firepower on Facebook:

The GFP Top 10:

1. United States

2. Russia

3. China

4. India

5. United Kingdom

6. France

7. South Korea

8. Germany

9. Japan

10. Turkey

The attack aircraft has long been in use and today's mounts have

benefited through the many decades of conventional warfare. Precision

bombing, fast-attack and low-level strikes are now the call-of-the-day,

ensuring that one's enemy cannot retaliate at full strength. The GFP total

ONLY includes fixed-wing attack / strike types (including light-class

aircraft) though it excludes armed UCAVs / Drones for the time being.

Attack helicopters and gunships are NOT taken into account. Systems on

order into 2015 are NOT taken into account.

Total Attack Aircraft strength data through 2015.

1

2,797

2

1,311

3

1,305

4

761

5

516

6

413

7

399

8

387

9

289

10

288

11

257

12

242

13

236

14

223

15

217

16

207

17

192

18

160

19

153

20

133

21

123

22

119

23

119

24

114

25

108

26

105

The dedicated attack helicopter has revolutionized armored warfare with its tank-killing capabilities, close-support qualities and battlefield survivability.

LIKE Global Firepower on Facebook:

The GFP Top 10:

1. United States

2. Russia

3. China

4. India

5. United Kingdom

6. France

7. South Korea

8. Germany

9. Japan

10. Turkey

The dedicated attack helicopter emerged during the Cold War years when

the tank proved the key component to battlefield victory for the enemy.

The basic formula has not changed today where firepower, performance

and survivability have proven key in a successful attack helicopter design.

For the purposes of the GFP listing, only dedicated attack helicopters are

considered - gunships or other converted transport platforms are not.

Primary attack helicopters include the American Hughes AH-64 Apache,

the Eurocopter Tiger and the Mil Mi-24/35 Hind series. Systems on order

heading into 2015 are NOT included.

Total Attack Helicopter strength data through 2015.

1

920

2

462

3

196

4

122

5

91

6

77

7

65

8

59

9

59

10

48

11

48

12

46

13

39

14

36

15

36

16

35

17

34

18

34

19

30

20

29

21

29

22

29

The second oldest battlefield on earth - the sea - pushes the need for leading military powers to field a strong, capable navy.

LIKE Global Firepower on Facebook:

The GFP Top 10:

1. United States

2. Russia

3. China

4. India

5. United Kingdom

6. France

7. South Korea

8. Germany

9. Japan

10. Turkey

For thousands of years, strength at sea has been one of the defining

military factors of any world power. Naval strength is used to respond to

territorial disputes as well as enforce maritime borders and protect

national interests. Today's navies are often required to operate thousands

of miles away from homeports with combat not necessarily requiring line-

of-sight. Couple these qualities with the expansive reach of carrier

aircrafts, naval helicopters and UAVs and the oceans become a lethal

battlefield all their own.

The listing below includes battleforce ships made up of aircraft carriers,

frigates, destroyers, corvettes, torpedo boats, patrol boats, amphibious

support craft, landing craft. Auxiliary vessels are also included.

Landlocked nations are NOT penalized for the lack of a standing naval

force and are, thus, excluded from this particular list.

1

1,061

2

673

3

473

4

397

5

352

6

313

7

245

8

232

9

202

10

175

11

174

12

171

13

166

14

155

15

143

16

131

17

122

18

121

19

120

20

115

21

113

Regardless of whatever leaders or groups are in power, peace continues to elude the Middle East.

LIKE Global Firepower on Facebook:

The GFP Top 10:

1. United States

2. Russia

3. China

4. India

5. United Kingdom

6. France

7. South Korea

8. Germany

9. Japan

10. Turkey

The GFP ranking makes use of over 40 factors to determine each

nation's Power Index ("PwrIndx") score. From this score, the finalized

ranking is generated. The factors are set within our algorithm which

provides a fair canvas and allows smaller, yet technologically-advanced

nations to compete with larger, lesser-developed ones. Additionally,

various bonuses and penalties are added for final refinement. In the end,

we hope it presents an unbiased ranking and realistic outlook on the

conventional military firepower and strength of a given country for a given

year. At the very least, this list can be used to stir healthy debate amongst

visitors to GFP.

There are a total of (13) countries of the Middle East represented in the

GFP database.

1

IsraelPwrIndx: 0.4976

2

IranPwrIndx: 0.7614

3

Saudi ArabiaPwrIndx: 0.8716

4

SyriaPwrIndx: 1.1677

5

United Arab EmiratesPwrIndx: 1.2484

6

JordanPwrIndx: 1.5739

7

OmanPwrIndx: 1.6845

8

KuwaitPwrIndx: 1.7336

9

QatarPwrIndx: 1.8839

10

YemenPwrIndx: 1.9286

11

BahrainPwrIndx: 2.1061

12

LebanonPwrIndx: 2.2247

13

IraqPwrIndx: 2.8594

Partial Sources: CIA.gov, CIA World Factbook, wikipedia.com, public domain print and media sources and user contributions. Some values may be estimated when official sources are lacking.