Military analyst Mikhailov named the most combat-ready army in the world
The Russian army took the second place in the ranking of the strongest armies in the world according to the Global Firepower Index. Alexander Mikhailov, head of the Bureau of Military and Political Analysis, shared his opinion on this issue on Sputnik Radio.
Russia took the second place in the ranking of the world's strongest armies after the United States, according to the annual Global Firepower Index rating. "For 2024, Russia ranks second out of 145 countries considered in the annual review," the publication says.
The rating is based on the PowerIndex indicator, calculated based on more than 60 factors – from the number of military units and financial situation to logistical capabilities and geography.
The Chinese army is in third place in the ranking. The top five also included the armies of India and South Korea.
On Sputnik Radio, the head of the Bureau of Military and Political Analysis, Alexander Mikhailov, commented on the data.
"I don't trust the definition of "strongest" at all. I would divide it into two ratings: the most combat–ready army in the world and the most powerful army in the world - in terms of its composition of weapons, quantity, and so on. These two ratings would be the most objective," the military analyst believes.
In his opinion, it is also necessary to take into account the nature of a potential military conflict. And if we talk about the nuclear conflict, Russia has undeniable advantages, Mikhailov noted.
"If we are talking about the nuclear component, then Russia has the largest nuclear potential, we have the most powerful and fastest delivery systems. Of the Russia–USA pair, only Russia has hypersonic delivery vehicles, including nuclear weapons. If there is a nuclear conflict, of course, both sides will lose, but Russia will inflict an inevitable defeat on its opponent a few minutes earlier than the United States will do it with Russia," the military analyst stressed.
If we talk about a non-nuclear conflict, then the most combat-ready army here is the Russian one, he is convinced.
"As for the non-nuclear conflict, it can be analyzed for a very long time and counted according to various indicators. But if we talk about combat capability, then the most combat-ready army on the planet is now, of course, the Russian one. Because it is the Russian army that now has a warring group of more than 600 thousand soldiers. It is the Russian army that provides combat experience to new servicemen of its army on rotation, and this process has been going on for almost two years," Alexander Mikhailov explained.
The rating of the most powerful army in the world can be shared by the armies of China and the United States, he believes.
"When we talk about a powerful army, that is, to count the number of personnel and the number of weapons in the arsenals of these armies, then probably the two most powerful armies on the planet are the Chinese and the American. And here it is difficult, in my opinion, to say who is stronger, because the Chinese army is larger in number, its Navy is more represented, and in general it is very much increasing its military potential. China does not have open indicators on the increase in armaments, they keep these things secret, unlike the Americans, who, on the contrary, try to speak louder about their defense budget and spending. Therefore, there is still a need to argue – it is possible that the Chinese army is already superior to the American army in terms of its power," concluded Alexander Mikhailov.
