[imagesource: Wikimedia Commons]

Saying the words ‘score bonus’ alongside ‘nuclear weapons’ is completely uncomfortable, but alas, here we are.

The military website Global Firepower has published its Global Firepower PowerIndex, a military strength ranking, for 2023.

It features 145 countries and considers 60 different factors to determine a given nation’s PowerIndex.

Shame – South Africa’s military is quite blessed in the face of the world’s top 10 military powers, and just a crying shame when compared to the United States still ranked as having the world’s strongest military power.

This is all truly weird to say because if it were up to my hippie instincts, there would be no military forces to perpetuate hate and all the rest of that kiss-a-flower-hug-a-tree hullabaloo that I prefer.

Anyway, BusinessTech explains how the PoweIndex ranking works:

The Global Firepower PowerIndex is calculated by focusing on weapon diversity rather than the total number of weapons available to any country to provide a better balance of firepower.

The formula also allows smaller, more technologically-advanced nations to compete with larger, lesser-developed powers, and special modifiers – in the form of bonuses and penalties – are applied to further refine the list, which is compiled annually.

One such special modifier is a nation’s access to nuclear weapons, and while they are not recognised directly, these nations receive an indirect score bonus.

Factors like geographical location, logistical flexibility, natural resources and local industry also impact the ranking.

Now for the top 10 military powers in the world, compared to South Africa, which sits at number 33:

1. US: 1 390 000 Active Frontline, 442 000 Reserve, 5 500 Combat tanks, 13 300 Air Force, 484 Naval Vessels
2. Russia: 830 900 Active Frontline, 250 000 Reserve, 12 566 Combat tanks, 4 182 Air Force, 598 Naval Vessels
3. China: 2 000 000 Active Frontlines, 510 000 Reserve, 4 950 Combat tanks, 3 284 Air Force, 730 Naval Vessels
4. India: 1 450 000 Active Frontline, 1 155 000 Reserve, 4 614 Combat tanks, 2 210 Air Force, 295 Naval Vessels
5. United Kingdom: 194 000 Active Frontline, 37 000 Reserve, 227 Combat tanks, 663 Air Force, 73 Naval Vessels
6. South Korea: 555 000 Active Frontline, 500 000 Reserve, 2 331 Combat tanks, 1 602 Air Force, 157 Naval Vessels
7. Pakistan: 654 000 Active Frontline, 550 000 Reserve, 3 742 Combat tanks, 1 413 Air Force, 114 Naval Vessels
8. Japan: 240 000 Active Frontline, 55 000 Reserve, 1 004 Combat tanks, 1 451  Air Force, 155 Naval Vessels
9. France: 205 000 Active Frontline, 35 000 Reserve, 222 Combat tanks, 1 004 Air Force, 126 Naval Vessels
10. Italy: 170 000 Active Frontline, 20 000 Reserve, 197 Combat tanks, 850 Air Force, 313 Naval Vessels

South Africa is actually down from being the 26th greatest military strength globally in 2022, as well as being the number one strongest military force in Africa in 2022.

Now it’s 33rd globally and third in Africa, behind Egypt (first) and Algeria (second).

South Africa’s land power is a perk, but in terms of air and naval power, the country has fallen behind other nations in recent years.

South Africa has a total aircraft strength of 226 assets, a total land strength of 2 935 assets, and a total naval strength of 47 assets.

Our defence budget is estimated at $2,8 billion, which is a pittance compared to the top three military powers: the US: $762 billion, China: $230 billion, and Russia: $83 billion.

Bless.

[source:businesstech]