Overview of the US Military, is America still a superpower?

Overview of the US Military | The United States leads the world in military budgets. As a result, the US military regularly ranks first in various rankings. Let’s take a look at some of the main characteristics of the US military.

Overview of the US Military, is America still a superpower?

MilitaryEzyInfo.com – The influence of the US on other countries is due to several factors. First of all, it is a powerful economy with direct links to the economies of many other countries and the entire global financial system. Additionally, the United States has at least the best military in the world. The country leads the world in terms of the military budget and is technologically superior to many other countries. As a result, the U.S. military regularly takes the top spot in various rankings. Let’s consider the main features of the US military.

One of the main features of the US military is its record high military budget. Over the past few years, there have been attempts to cut spending, but now, according to some reports, there are plans to return to growth. in the fiscal year 2014, about $610 billion was allocated for defense spending. in 2015, it plans to spend about the same or slightly more. Nevertheless, as it stands, the U.S. still maintains the largest military budget in the world, and the gap between Russia and China is serious.

According to The Military Balance handbook, about 1,492,200 people served in the US military in 2014. In addition, 14,000 jobs were provided to civilian professionals. If necessary, the Department of Defense can use its reserve forces, which include 843,750 people.

U.S. citizens can join the military service from the age of 18 (or 17 – with the permission of their parents or legal representatives). The maximum age for conscription is limited and depends on the type of military force. Thus, those who are not older than 35 can join the ground forces, and those who are not older than 28 can join the Marines. with a population of over 316 million, the U.S. has a large mobilizing force. With a population of more than 316 million people, the United States has a large mobilization capacity, and it is estimated that about 120 million people are fit to serve.

Overview of the US Military: Ground Forces

The total number of ground troops, including the National Guard, is 586,700. In addition, there are 528,500 reservists assigned to the Army. As you can see, the U.S. Army has the largest structure of any U.S. military force, and this is due to several features.

The Army’s personnel and equipment are distributed among several large units with different purposes. The 2nd and 3rd Cavalry Regiments and three reconnaissance brigades are responsible for the reconnaissance of ground troops. There are five “heavy” divisions equipped with various types of armor and self-propelled artillery. The 2nd Infantry Division and the 25th Infantry Division are classified as “medium” divisions and are appropriately configured. They have manpower transport and fire support equipment. There is also one light infantry division. Airborne forces are represented by three major divisions. These are the 82nd Division, 101st Division, and 173rd Brigade.

The U.S. Army has two helicopter brigades, seven artillery brigades, five engineer brigades, three logistics brigades, three medical brigades, and other units that perform support functions.

About 20,000 people belong to the Army National Guard. There are more than 330,000 reservists in the National Guard. For other purposes, this structure has a smaller number of units than the army. Thus, there are only seven armored brigades and three ‘heavy’ infantry brigades.” A “medium” mechanized brigade has only one such unit, while a “light” brigade is represented by 20 brigades. At the same time, the National Guard Army has 13 helicopter brigades, 7 artillery brigades, 7 engineer brigades, etc.

The U.S. Army has a wide variety of military equipment; as of 2014, the Army has 2,338 M1 Abrams tanks in service. Of these, about 3,500 were in storage. There were also 1,928 reconnaissance vehicles of several types, most of which (just over 1,000) were Stryker platform-based vehicles. 4,459 M2 and M3 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles were used for personnel transport. About 2,000 of these vehicles are in storage.

Armored personnel carriers are the most numerous of the U.S. Army’s vehicles, numbering 2,509 different types. Despite the cuts, one of the most common is the late-modified M113 armored personnel carrier. About 5,000 of these are currently in service and another 8,000 are in storage; the supply of armored personnel carriers of the Stryker series continues, with 2,792 already delivered to the Army. In recent years, 17,417 MRAP armored vehicles have been produced, including 5759 M-ATVs.

Artillery is represented by 5,899 guns of different types. That is 969 M109A6 self-propelled guns (of which about 500 are in storage), 1,242 towed 105mm and 155mm caliber guns, 1,205 multiple rocket systems, and 2,483 mortars, including self-propelled mortars.

For tank countermeasures, 1,512 self-propelled anti-tank systems are available; 1,379 TOW systems on HMMWV chassis and 133 vehicles based on the Stryker platform. The infantry units also rely on the Javelin wearable missile system.

For amphibious landing operations, the US Army has access to 45 LCU-1600 and LCU-2000 amphibious boats. There are also eight Frank Besson type boats and 73 LCM-8 type boats.

The U.S. Army also has aviation units. It has 61 reconnaissance planes, both photo, and radio reconnaissance planes. It also has about 160 transport aircraft of several types.

The helicopter force, on the other hand, is the backbone of US military aviation. It has 737 AH-64D / E Apache attack helicopters, 356 multipurpose OH-58D Kiowa Warriors, 90 reconnaissance OH-58A / C Kiowas, and 26 multipurpose HH-601s. There are 2,787 transport helicopters of several types, including 397 heavy CH-47 Chinooks with several modifications. Pilots are trained in 154 TH-154 Creek helicopters.

In addition, the Army’s air force operates 323 unmanned aircraft. The most prevalent of these is the RQ-7A Shadow (236 units).

The Army Air Corps is represented by about 1,300 pieces of various equipment. There are 816 self-propelled units: 703 FIM-92A Avenger, 95 M6 Linebacker, and 18 THAAD. There are also 480 towed MIM-104 Patriot systems with some modifications.FIM-92 Stinger portable anti-aircraft missile systems have been issued to each unit.

Overview of the US Military: Navy

There are 322,700 service members in the US Navy. There are 105,000 men in the reserves. All naval forces are divided into two major navies, one centered on the Atlantic coast and the other on the Pacific coast. There are also five organized navies that include some of the world’s ocean regions. The US Navy has 72 submarines and 107 warships in all.

The U.S. Navy has 14 Ohio-class submarines with 24 UGM-133 Trident II ballistic missiles. They are also armed with torpedo tubes. Ohio’s submarines are currently the only offensive capability of the maritime component of the U.S. strategic nuclear forces.

The four Ohio-class submarines, which previously carried ballistic missiles, have been upgraded and re-equipped with Tomahawk LACM cruise missiles. After the upgrade, each sub now carries 154 missiles. Destroying search and rescue ships and surface targets have also been assigned to the 30 multi-purpose submarine type Los Angeles in two modifications. There are ten multi-purpose submarines in the Virginia program. The Los Angeles and Virginia submarines are armed primarily with LACM missiles.

Several torpedo-driven nuclear submarines are retained. There are eleven Los Angeles class submarines of the first modification armed only with torpedo tubes, and eight Seawolf-class submarines. The latter is capable of using both torpedoes and missiles fired from torpedo tubes.

The U.S. Navy’s main strike force consists of ten Nimitz-class aircraft carriers. Each carries a set of anti-aircraft weapons as well as an air group, consisting of dozens of fixed and rotary-wing aircraft. The primary weapon of these ships is the F/A-18 Hornet fighter-bomber, with up to 50 to 60 aircraft on board.

The U.S. Navy equips its 22 Ticonderoga-class cruisers with two vertical Mk41 launchers with 61 weapons cells. Depending on the combat mission, these ships can carry RGM-84 anti-missile missiles, Tomahawk LACM cruise missiles, and several types of anti-aircraft missiles.

The most popular type of ship in the U.S. Navy is the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, with 62 ships in service. Currently, there are several modifications of destroyers with different weapons and equipment. The primary armament of these ships is the vertical Mk 41 launcher, similar to the one used on the Ticonderoga cruisers.

Ten frigates from the Oliver Hazard Perry project, armed with anti-aircraft guns, artillery, and torpedoes, remain in service. Also, three Littoral Combat Ship class vessels have been built in the last few years, two with independent designations and one with a free designation.

There are fifty-five ships and boats of several types in use to patrol the waters. There are also 13 Avenger-class minesweepers, 245 amphibious boats, and 71 support boats. The repatriation and disembarkation of troops ashore are carried out by 30 amphibious assault ships of several types, including one Tarawa project and eight San Antonio-type ships.

An important part of the Navy is naval aviation. This structure employs 98.6 thousand people. Personnel and equipment are distributed across ten wings, each wing consisting of an average of eight squadrons. These include attack, reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and anti-submarine squadrons.

The U.S. Navy’s Naval Aviation has a total of 1,089 aircraft of various types. The largest number of these aircraft is the deck type fighter-bomber, with 823 of them. The majority of these aircraft are the F/A-18 Hornet with various modifications. Deliveries of the F-35C Lightning II aircraft have also begun.

In second place is anti-submarine aircraft, with 151 aircraft: 140 P-3C Orions and 11 P-8A Poseidon. in third place are EA-6B Prowlers and EA-18G Growler anti-submarine patrol aircraft (115 aircraft).

There are 69 E-2C/D Hawkeye long-range radar detectors, 11 EP-3E Aries II radio reconnaissance aircraft, two RC-12F/M Huron reconnaissance aircraft, 68 transport aircraft, and 640 training aircraft of several types.

The U.S. Navy’s main multipurpose helicopter is the MH-60-495, with three modifications: 28 MH-53E Sea Dragons, three OH-58C Kiowas, and 11 HH-60H Seahawks, as well as 13 transport helicopters and 120 multi-role training helicopters.

The Navy has 60 unmanned aerial vehicles; deliveries of MQ-8B/Cs (21) continue, and four RQ-4A Global Hawks have been delivered on a trial basis.

Overview of the US Military: Air Force

The total strength of the U.S. Air Force is 329,500, with 168,855,000 in reserves. The various units of the Air Force are subordinate to a number of commands. Thus, the Global Strike Command controls the strategic air forces and the units armed with ballistic missiles. The Air Combat Command brings together units armed with different strike aircraft. The Air Mobility Command is responsible for military transport aviation, while the Air Education and Training Command is responsible for pilot training.

The U.S. Air Force has a total of 1,438 fighter aircraft of various types. Long-range aviation is represented by 136 bombers of three types: the 63 B-1B Lancer, the 19 B-2A Spirit, and the 52 B-52H Stratofortress. It should be noted that the unit equipped with the B-1B bomber belongs to Air Combat Command, while the other two types of equipment are operated by Global Strike Command.

The majority of the Air Force’s fighters are several types of fighter-bombers. There are a total of 823 aircraft – 585 F-16 Fighting Falcons, 211 F-15E Strike Eagles, and 27 F-35A Lightning IIs with some modifications. Direct support to the troops is assigned to 160 A-10C Thunderbolt II attack aircraft. For fighter missions, the Air Force uses 275 F-15C Eagles (106), F-15D Eagles (10), and F-22A Raptors (159).

In addition, 14 EC-130H Compass Call REBs, 80 reconnaissance aircraft of several types, 22 E-3B/C Sentry long-range reconnaissance aircraft, and 32 E-3B/C Sentry long-range detection aircraft may be involved in combat missions; 167 KC-135 tankers with two modifications, 167 KC-10A There are 59 extender tanker/transport aircraft.

Units under the Air Mobility Command have 228 C-17A Globemaster and C-5 Galaxy heavy military transport aircraft, 140 C-130 Hercules medium, and 39 light multi-type aircraft. The Air Force also has a fleet of 24 passenger aircraft.

Three types of aircraft are used for pilot training: the T-1A Jayhawk (179 aircraft), the T-6A Texan II (405 aircraft), and the T-38A Talon (546 aircraft).

In the U.S. military, attack helicopters are assigned to the Army Air Corps and are operated by the appropriate units of the ground forces. Therefore, there are only 143 helicopters of several types in the Air Force. This equipment is primarily used to transport cargo and personnel.

The Air Force has 248 unmanned aerial vehicles of several types, which are used for reconnaissance and ground targeting. These are 101 MQ-1B Predator UAVs, 115 MQ-9A/B Reapers, 31 RQ-4B Global Hawks, and several RQ-170 Sentinels.

In addition to strategic aviation, the Global Strike Command also has a force of LGM-30 Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles. Currently, there are about 450 to 500 in service.

The US Air Force has a variety of missiles and bombs, both guided and unguided. There are air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons. In addition to conventional weapons, there are also nuclear warheads. It can also use electronic warfare equipment in the form of suspended containers if needed.

Overview of the US Military: Marine Corps

The Marine Corps has 197,300 personnel. The Marine Corps Reserve has 37,500 personnel. This branch of the military is designed to conduct combat operations far from the base, which affects its structure and equipment. As such, the Marines actively use a variety of amphibious vehicles. In addition, they have their own aviation. At the same time, however, the Navy must provide the ships and boats to conduct landings at sea.

The Marine Corps units have 447 M1A1 Abrams tanks. There are also 252 LAV-25 armored vehicles in service.1,311 AAV-7A1 amphibious vehicles are used to land troops for amphibious landings and other transport missions. Other transport duties are assigned to 1,679 M-ATVs and 2,380 MRAP-class armored vehicles.

KMP artillery units have 1,506 guns of various types, including 832 guns of 105mm and 155mm caliber, 40 M142 HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, and 634 mortars, including self-propelled.

The Marine Corps’ anti-tank arsenal consists of 95 LAV-TOW self-propelled missile systems based on the chassis of the LAV-25 armored personnel carrier, and a carry version with numerous TOW missile systems. The primary defense against air attack is the FIM-92 Stinger man-portable air defense system.

An integral part of the Marine Corps is its air force, which is designed to perform missions such as fire support. The Marine Corps Air Force is made up of nearly 70 different units with a variety of equipment and weapons.

ILC Aviation has a fleet of 394 aircraft of several types. At the core of Marine, Corps aviation are the F/A-18 (222) and AV-8B Harrier (125) aircraft with various modifications. Deliveries of F-35B Lightning IIs have also begun, with 30 already in service.

The support mission may include 29 EA-6B Prowler REBs, 46 KC-130J Hercules tankers, 19 transport and passenger aircraft, and three T-34C Turbomenter trainers.

For the past few years, the MV-22 Osprey (210 vehicles with several modifications) has been the primary transport vehicle for the ILC. There are also 374 transport helicopters, including 145 heavy CH-53E Sea Stallions, 90 medium CH-46E Sea Knights, and 70 UH-1Y Iroquois; 158 AH-1W Cobras and AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters are in active service, and a total of 1,000 helicopters are in service.

Overview of the US Military: Coast Guard

There are 41,200 military personnel and 7,600 civilians assigned to the Coast Guard to monitor the waters. All the waters that the Coast Guard is responsible for are divided into nine areas; four are in the Pacific Ocean and the other five are in the Atlantic Ocean. The main task of the Coast Guard is to patrol the waters and quell various illegal activities.

The U.S. Coast Guard has 159 patrol vessels, combat ships, and boats. There are many different types of boats and ships. So, there are 73 marine protector type boats and Alex Haley is the only representative of that design. The Coast Guard’s auxiliary fleet consists of 377 various types of boats.

The Coast Guard has an aviation company. There are 57 aircraft, including 14 HU-25s with several modifications and 27 HC-130H/J Hercules, and 125 helicopters of several types. 90 AS366G1s are the largest helicopters available, with 11 more to go.

Overview of the US Military: Special Operations Forces

The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) or Special Operations Command is the central agency that coordinates the work of the branches of the armed forces. Under its command is the headquarters of each branch of the armed forces. The total number of US special operations forces is 62,000. This structure includes 6,400 civilian employees.

The U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) has 32,400 personnel in its ground forces. The command includes several ground units, an aviation regiment, a logistics brigade, and several battalions tasked with working with civilians.

The USASOC has 640 M-ATVs, 50 AH-6M/MH-6M Little Bird helicopters, 130 MH-47G Chinook helicopters, and 62 MH-60 multiple conversion aircraft. There are also 57 reconnaissance drones of several types.

The U.S. Naval Special Warfare Command (NAVSOC) manages some of the Navy’s units engaged in special operations forces. The unit employs 9,500 people. The SEAL unit is the main strike force of NAVSOC. To support it, there are other units responsible for transportation and equipment.

The Naval Air Force is represented by the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), with 153,000 personnel, two squadrons of AC-130H/U fire support aircraft, 14 squadrons of transport aircraft, five squadrons of training aircraft, and two squadrons of UAVs. These units have a total of 149 aircraft, including 25 AC-130H/U attack aircraft and 61 MH-130 transport aircraft (various modifications) AFSOC has 35 CV-22 Osprey convertibles. There are also over 40 helicopters of several types. Most of them are – light Bell 205s (24 units). It is interesting to note that the transport squadron has several Soviet/Russian made aircraft and helicopters such as An-26, Mi-8, and Mi-171.

AFSOC operates 39 large unmanned aircraft. These are 29 MQ-1B Predator reconnaissance and 10 MQ-9 Reapers for similar purposes.

The US Marine Corps Special Operations Command (MARSOC) employs 3,000 people. For a variety of reasons, there are only three units in this structure: one special operations regiment and two auxiliary battalions.

Overview of the US Military: Satellite Constellation

The Pentagon’s satellite constellation includes 115 spacecraft with a variety of applications. This equipment is used to perform a variety of tasks related to the support of the armed forces.

There are 36 satellites used for communications, including three AEHF, eight DSCS-III, seven UFO, and six WGS SV2. The satellite navigation system GPS Navistar uses 33 satellites, including 9 Navistar Block II/IIA, 4 Navistar Block IIF, and 20 Navistar Block IIR/RM. There are six DSMP-5 satellites used for meteorological and oceanographic services. The United States has a well-developed group of reconnaissance spacecraft. These are 2 FIA, 1 ORS-1, 1 TacSat-1, 1 SBSS, and 22 radio technical reconnaissance satellites of different types. The missile attack detection system consists of 4 DSP type satellites and 2 SBIRS Geo-1 type satellites.