Since 1949, NATO has increased its collective military power. Today it has the capability to count on nearly 3.5-million personnel, troops and civilian combined. Each member state agrees to contribute with different strategic weight and influence.
NATO, which was formed in 1949, is the most powerful military alliance in the world.
The combined total of Nato military personnel currently exceeds 5.4m – around four times as many as Russia, according to Statista.
NATO's European fleets alone have almost four times the number of Russia's surface warships, leaving aside the huge forces deployed by the United States with the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean and the Second Fleet in the Atlantic.
The security bloc—which has 27 members including the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany and Turkey—has the capability to count on nearly 3.5 million personnel.
The US dominates the air with far more bases, fighter jets and bombers than Russia but Russia is superior on the ground with more tanks, artillery and land vehicles. At sea, the countries are more evenly matched, but here the US has the edge with more destroyers, submarines and aircraft carriers.
Russia possesses an estimated 5,977 nuclear warheads as of 2022, the largest stockpile of nuclear warheads in the world; the second-largest stockpile is the United States' 5,428 warheads. Russia's deployed missiles (those actually ready to be launched) number about 1,588, second to the United States' 1,644.
As of 2022, there were estimated to be approximately 4,178 nuclear warheads belonging to three NATO allies, the United States, France, and the United Kingdom.
In terms of submarines, China just edges out Russia by 79 to 70. Russia maintains the upper hand in the air, boasting just over 4,000 aircraft to China's 3,200, according to Global Firepower, of which Russia had 739 dedicated attack aircraft to China's 371.
The Turkish Armed Forces is the second largest standing military force in NATO, after the U.S. Armed Forces, and the thirteenth in the world, with an estimated strength of 775,000 military and paramilitary personnel in 2022.
The Power of NATO. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is known throughout the globe as the world's strongest and most powerful Alliance; but where does NATO's power come from?
The UN likely commands more global influence, but NATO, for example, is more powerful militarily. Inter-governmental organisations, such as the European Union, are hugely powerful globally.
The NATO Alliance consists of 30 member states from North America and Europe. Article Five of the treaty states that if an armed attack occurs against one of the member states, it should be considered an attack against all members, and other members shall assist the attacked member, with armed forces if necessary.
1. Russia (Overall ranking: 2)
The cities that would most likely be attacked are Washington, New York City and Los Angeles.
Depending on its impact radius, even a Tsar bomb cannot destroy a whole country. Only a small country such as Vatican City or Monaco with land areas of 44 ha and 202 ha respectively can be completely destroyed using a nuclear weapon.
Nuclear weapons are a core component of NATO's overall capabilities for deterrence and defence, alongside conventional and missile defence forces. NATO is committed to arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation, but as long as nuclear weapons exist, it will remain a nuclear alliance.
Short answer: It's very unlikely. As you read above, causing a nuclear bomb to detonate requires a precise orchestration of events, without which the chain reaction does not initiate and the bomb doesn't detonate.
In 2022, China had the largest armed forces in the world by active duty military personnel, with about 2 million active soldiers. India, the United States, North Korea, and Russia rounded out the top five largest armies respectively, each with over one million active military personnel.
1. America. The United States of America is without a doubt one of the world's most powerful countries, and its defence system is no exception.
China has the strongest military in the world, scoring 82 out of 100 points in the index, it noted.
The United States of America maintains the strongest Air Force in the world by an impressive margin. As of late 2021, the United States Air Force (USAF) is composed of 5217 active aircraft, making it the largest, the most technologically advanced, and the most powerful air fleet in the world.
And a significant level of their spending does not appear "on the public books." Overall, in terms of resources, the U.S. has an advantage, but it is not as overwhelming as it appears. In terms of simple numbers of warships, China is already leading the U.S., roughly 350 to 300, in combat vessels.