My gun is bigger than your gun

by BRIAN LOCKHART

There are two main wars underway in the world, and several other smaller ones that have been more like continuing skirmishes.

The Russia/Ukraine war is the main battleground in the world today, with hundreds of thousands of casualties caused by modern weapons.

The Israeli invasion of Gaza is ongoing and has resulted in thousands of deaths.

We hear so much about military powers in the world, but the truth is, most of the military power is in the hands of only a few countries.

Having a presence on the high seas has always been a big deal. Currently, the U.S. has the most powerful navy that has ever existed.

With 11 aircraft carriers, 68 submarines, 70 destroyers, and a total of around 475 ships, the U.S. Navy is designed to bring the fight to other shores.

In comparison, Canada, with the largest coastline in the world has a strictly defensive naval force with no destroyers, 12 frigates, and 21 off-shore patrol vessels.

While having a reliable navy is important, it is very expensive to operate a naval force.

There are 44 landlocked countries in the world. Your naval presence on the world stage is limited when you don't have access to the ocean.

Most other countries have very limited navies. Smaller countries have only shoreline patrol boats.

Even those countries that operate a sizable fleet of naval vessels have most of their ships docked most of the time.

It is expensive to send an entire fleet out to patrol the water if there is no threat.

Air power is a huge advantage when it comes to warfare.

If you're on the ground, the last thing you want to see is an A-10 Thunderbolt approaching. You will have no defence against it. When it unleashes 65 to 70 rounds per second at its target, those on the ground will never even hear the hum of its rotary cannon before being ripped to shreds.

The U.S. again leads the total in military aircraft with an air force of 5,190, naval aircraft at 2,626, and army aircraft at 4,397. Add to that more aircraft in their reserve forces.

The Royal Canadian Air Force is considered formidable on the world stage with around 430 aircraft including fighters and support aircraft. The new F-35A super high-tech fight will join the fleet with 88 on order.

Having an air force is incredibly expensive. The cost of buying a modern fighter is huge. Then there is the cost of training pilots and maintaining each airplane.

Every time a jet fighter takes off, it is a huge expense. If you are training pilots and need to fire some missiles, every trigger pull could cost thousands of dollars, or more.

Many countries in the world don't have a working air force due to the expense. Some small countries maintain an air wing, but they are mostly reconnaissance aircraft used for keeping an eye on their neighbours or used for transportation.

The loss of a single aircraft is a huge disaster for many smaller countries.  

During the Six Day War, the Israeli forces managed to destroy most of the Egyptian Air Force, then eliminated the Jordanian and Syrian Air Forces while they were still on the ground.

That mission gave Israel total air superiority and turned the tide of the war.

Ground forces have always been the mainstay of any nation's military. This includes infantry, armored divisions, artillery, and transportation. It may also include support units such as helicopters.

The number of personnel in a country's army may also be misleading, as reported. Many countries report dubious numbers of active soldiers – especially those countries that have no perceived threat.

North Korea reports 1,280,000 regular military, 600,000 reserves, and 5,700,000 trained paramilitary personnel. There is plenty of doubt if North Korea's military is effective.

North Korean soldiers who were loaned to Russia in the war against Ukraine, proved to be untrained, unmotivated, ill equipped, and were most likely volunteered for service at the point of a gun.

Also, North Korea does not have the financial capability of supporting an army of that size, so who are they trying to kid?

When it comes to ground-based wars, numbers usually don't mean much, other than to increase your casualty rate.

Military forces are a huge expense for any country.

It's sad to think that in this day and age we still need an armed force.

If all that money that makes the arms dealers rich was used for good causes, think of the advances that could be made in medicine, science, arts, culture, and just building new parks.