Who would have thought: In the 21st century, the elected head of state of a sovereign country and his wife would be snatched from their beds by the army of another country. But such a fairy tale-like event took place on Saturday night at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela.

The attack was not a surprise. Spies had been planning it for months. Court staff were tasked with tracking down Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

The USS Gerald R. Ford, which can carry up to 90 aircraft, had been floating in the Caribbean Sea as a warning bell since August.

F-35s carried out the precision strike in the middle of the night. The EA-18Gs knocked out radar. The operation was so swift: By the time the rest of the world knew about the attack on Venezuela, the president had already been captured.

Donald Trump's voice echoed from Washington, "Those who disobey us in South America will pay a heavy price." The warning was clearly aimed at Cuba and Colombia.

It is not new for powerful countries to attack the weak in the world. But in the last few years, war has gripped every corner. In 2025, a large population from Ecuador in the Western Hemisphere to Myanmar in the Eastern Hemisphere was in the grip of violence. The new year has made the situation worse.

In this environment of increasing global hostility, budgets have been cut in areas such as social security and health and education. Countries have invested heavily in war. However, the United Nations has failed to rein in this competition between large and small nations and groups of the world to intimidate opponents with the power of guns. Which has further motivated powerful nations to increase their military power.

A report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in Sweden shows that arms trade in 2024 was the highest ever. According to the research, the world's total military expenditure that year was It had reached 2.7 trillion US dollars. Details for 2025 are yet to come. However, this year, the expenditure is projected to increase to 2.8 to 3 trillion. Because, military expenditure in Europe and the Middle East increased by 10% this year.

Which country will have the largest military capacity by 2026? This material has been prepared based on studies conducted by various agencies.

Budget

The US spends the largest budget for the army. According to the statistics of 2024, its defense budget expenditure was 997 billion US dollars. Which is 3.4 percent of the total GDP of the US.

In second place is China. Which spends 314 billion dollars. Which is 1.4 percent of its total GDP.

In third place is Russia. It spends $149 billion. That is 7.1 percent of its total GDP. Germany, in fourth place, spends $88.5 billion, and India, in fifth place, spends $86.1 billion on defense.

The UK is sixth, Saudi Arabia is seventh, Ukraine is eighth, France is ninth, and Japan is tenth. When comparing defense spending to GDP, Ukraine was number one in 2024.

It spent 34 percent of its total GDP on defense. Israel spent 8.8 percent of its total GDP on defense. Algeria spent 8 percent of its total GDP on its military this year.

Number of active troops

China has the largest active military. The number of active soldiers in this country is around 2 million.

India with 1.45 million troops  ranks second on the list, the US with 1.39 million troops is third, North Korea with 1.2 million troops is fourth, and Russia with 830,000  troops is fifth.

Pakistan with 650,000 troops is sixth, Iran with 575,000 troops is seventh, South Korea with 555,000 troops is eighth, Vietnam with 470,000 troops is ninth, and Egypt with 440,000 troops is tenth. 

Reserve Army 

People in the country who have undergone military training and are physically fit are placed on this list. These are people who can immediately wear a uniform and work in the workplace in times of national crisis or war with other countries.

The number of reserve forces is higher in countries where military training is mandatory . According to Global Firepower.com, this list  Vietnam is in first place. Vietnam has 5 million reserve soldiers.

In this country, young people between the ages of 18 and 27 must undergo at least 18 to 24 months of compulsory military training. They can delay or advance one or two years by citing education, health, family reasons, etc. South Korea has 3.1 million, Russia has 2 million, the Philippines and Ukraine have 12.2 million and India has 1.155 million reserve soldiers.

Air Force

The US Air Force is unparalleled. The army has 13,004 aircraft. This includes state-of-the-art helicopters and long- and short-range aircraft. Russia has 4,292 aircraft.

China is in third place with 3,309, India has 2,229 and South Korea has 1,592 warplanes. Japan is sixth in this list, Pakistan is seventh, Egypt is eighth, Turkey is ninth and France is tenth.

Navy

The US Navy has 11 aircraft carriers and 92 destroyers with more than 10,000 missiles. Which can hit thousands of kilometers away. For example, the Tomahawk missile can hit up to 2,500 km away. There are also 66 submarines.

These submarines are operational in many seas of the world. By deploying Trident Second through these submarines, the US can launch a nuclear strike up to 12,000 kilometers away.

The US has a total of 232 modern warships that can be used in war. These ships were deployed in various areas. The Gerald R. Ford was deployed to the Caribbean in August before the invasion of Venezuela.

The ship can park about 90 warplanes. These planes played a key role in the coordinated attack on Venezuela. China's navy has 730 warships.

China has been steadily increasing the capabilities of its navy. It has invested heavily in building powerful submarines, new aircraft carriers, frigates and stealth destroyers. China has kept its navy on standby to defend its interests, especially in the Indo-Pacific and South China Sea regions.

Russia's naval power base comes in third place. Russia has a fleet of more than 1.26 million tons of missile-equipped warships. There are also nuclear-powered submarines. Moscow has a strong presence in the Arctic, Baltic Sea and Mediterranean, in particular.

Tanks

A strong tank is considered essential for carrying out any mission on land. A modern, well-equipped tank force helps countries defend themselves from attacks, fight insurgencies, deter attackers and project regional power.

According to Global Firepower, China has about 6,800 tanks. Russia has 5,750 tanks. The US has 4,640 Abrams tanks. North Korea, India, Egypt and Pakistan also have large numbers of tanks.

Nuclear power

Iran is suspected of being in the final stages of developing nuclear weapons, but this has not been confirmed. So far, 9 countries in the world have been confirmed to have nuclear weapons.

More than 90 percent of them are with Russia and the United States. In addition, France, Britain, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea are also nuclear-armed countries.

Russia has a total of 5,459 nuclear warheads. Of these, 4,309 warheads are active. Similarly, out of the 5,177 warheads that the United States has, 3,700 are active.

The United States tested nuclear weapons in 1945 and Russia in 1949. The United States is the only country in the world to use nuclear weapons in war. It dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

Infrastructure

The United States has also invested heavily in military infrastructure. The United States has more than 750 military bases around the world. The US has more than 500 modern cargo planes like the C-17.

Aircraft carriers like the Gerald R. Ford can stay at sea for 6 months. It has established bases in areas like Yakusuka in Japan, Diego Garcia near Mauritius, and Al Udeid in Qatar. Similarly, it has placed its nuclear bombs in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK, and Turkey in Europe.

China does not have a global military base like the US. However, recently, it has made its influence global through the Belt and Road Initiative. Currently, China has access to 375 ports in 136 countries. China is using ports such as Gwadar in Pakistan and Hambantota in Sri Lanka as a strategy.

Geographically, Russia, the world's largest country, has borders on both the continents of Europe and Asia. Russia has benefited greatly from this. It has its forces on standby from Siberia to Western Europe in the east.

Weapons and Missile Capabilities

The world's powers have invested heavily in modern missiles and weapons. The US, China and Russia have the capability to strike thousands of kilometers away. The US has an intercontinental ballistic missile called the LGM-30G Minuteman-3.

Which can strike up to 13,000 kilometers away. It can carry one or more nuclear warheads.

The US is currently developing the LGM-35A Sentinel to replace it in the future. This missile is designed to be more accurate, safe and for long-term use.

In terms of conventional weapons, the US has the long-range hypersonic weapon 'Dark Eagle' system. It is launched from the ground. It can hit at a distance of more than 2,700 km.

China's DF-41 ICBM can hit at a distance of up to 14,000 km. That is, it can reach the United States. The DF-26 Guam Killer can sink an aircraft carrier at a distance of up to 4,000 km. China has destroyers such as the Type 055 and supersonic missiles.

Russia's Kinzhal hypersonic missile can reach 2,000 km in 10 minutes. The Zircon can reach 1,000 km and hit an aircraft carrier. The RS 28 Sarmat ICBM can hit 10 MIRV warheads at a distance of up to 18,000 km.

North Korea has also been investing heavily in intercontinental missile capabilities in recent years. North Korea has intercontinental ballistic missiles such as the Hwasong-17. , which can cover a distance of more than 15,000 km . It has the ability to hit the continental United States and can carry more than one warhead .

The North is investing in developing advanced missiles like the Hwasong-18 .  which can hit quickly using solid fuel instead of liquid fuel . North Korea has a large number of hypersonic missiles like the KN-23 surface-to-surface missile, which can hit at high speeds at distances of 690 km and 1,000 km .