$18,000,000 Military Vs $800,000,000,000 Military

[@megaprojects9649]

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[@olencone4005]

I gotta admit, considering the topic, War Thunder is an excellent choice for the sponsor for this video haha! :P

[@RedStarAero]

The title and the sponsor is just on the dot, bruh 😂

[@farmcat9873]

Trust and believe WT isnt free you pay for it with your SOUL...... trust me I been playing the darn game since 2010 😭also its free at first but you will be spending $$$$$$ sooner than you think. Think that Bull$h!T meter should be shown for the WT game

[@RedStarAero]

@@farmcat9873 have you grinded for the recent event that features the Persian F14? The event has gained lots of positive reviews though 🥶

[@Kinetic31]

​​@@farmcat9873huh? I've got top tier USA haven't spent a penny. You don't have to spend money if you don't want top tier anyways. Br 6.0 is the most fun

[@VorpalBunnysRevenge]

Would have been nice to touch on the logistical side of the US military, too. A lot is spent on getting "stuff" into inhospitable places. It also turns out when natural disasters strike those sorts of things become useful, as well. Food, water, fuel, etc. are kind of nice to get to people in distress. Oh and hospital ships, those are lifesavers for more than just combat injuries.

[@chrislong3938]

Not to mention all the friendly forward bases to stash equipment around the world. While not really a military thing, I always found it interesting that when the Soviets put men in space back in the '60s, a third or a half of their orbits were out of contact with ground control. In contrast, the US had communication capabilities with their astronauts constantly via friendly nations. It's actually pretty stark...

[@adammangold1392]

Army's win battles logistics wins wars

[@nathansheldahl]

All the toys and expensive equipment does nobody any good if it’s stuck back at home as they say. This is where the US really shines and establishes its military dominance. No one can come even remotely as close to our logistical capabilities in the world. We learned thru hard experience how important it is to have great logistics and how deadly it is to ignore its importance. It’s the envy of every other military in the world.

[@SeeingBackward]

It's been said that the US military is better thought of as the worlds most effective worldwide logisitics organization, which employs and supplies the most world's capable security services as a result.

[@jeromethiel4323]

@@SeeingBackward Not as good as it used to be, but still nothing to sniff at. The US learned that lesson during WW2, and hasn't forgotten it yet. The USN, for example, is adept as UNREP (underway replenishment), and the air force is very good at air to air refueling. Keeping your front line well supplied is important. And nobody does it better. For all the talk about China's navy, they are not a proven blue water navy. They have no experience in that kind of theater, and no idea how to do UNREP. If they expect to project power world wide, they need to figure it out. But i don't think they will.

[@dektarey4024]

Have a friend who was deployed alongside Liberian troops in Afghanistan. Apparently really humble and charismatic chaps. If your military is small you have to make sure your friends arent. A good reputation is half the battle in this case.

[@paradox7358]

Liberia gets points for effort

[@grantbarday5760]

Russia and China will never have my respect (US Service member) because they keep pretending to be something they’re not. Countries like Iran and Liberia, on the other hand, know they aren’t top dog but still do the best with what they have will always have my respect (Militarily).

[@rustythecrown9317]

@@grantbarday5760 The country south of mine loves to wave it's dick around too.

[@emberverse.eth.]

You sound like a mother from the 90s 😂

[@hanisk2]

@@grantbarday5760I hope you can still say that when china literally is the world.. that’s their goal and they are reaching it through immigration.. not even shots fired

[@grantbarday5760]

@@hanisk2 we’ll see if their economy and population lasts long enough.

[@martinstallard2742]

1:53 Liberia 5:47 Albania 10:27 China 14:28 the United States

[@JosephThomas-t3n]

Love the term "accuracy by volume" or "warheads on foreheads" , both coined by TFE haha

[@justinboline1921]

I assure you he coined neither of those sayings. Those sayings have been around a LOT longer than his channel.

[@Fuckingboredrn]

Buddy those have been around awhile lol

[@ateague01]

Idk who TFE is but he didn’t invent either of those sayings.

[@dannichols8728]

He may have not created the sayings, nor does he claim to. But he certainly made their popularity grow

[@glareicebutts1423]

@@dannichols8728absolutely negligibly

[@andersjjensen]

LOL! What's the biggest air force in the world? The USAF! Roger. What's the second biggest air force in the world then? The USN! When Perun said "The United States of America absolutely abhors the idea of a fair fight" he was joking, except he wasn't joking.

[@user-tn4ix6ir6z]

WRONGGGGGGG #1 US Air Force (5217) #2 US Army (4406) #3 US Navy (4012) but close ;)

[@nickna7387]

The most alarming part is we haven't even gone into a wartime economy since ww2. And when we did we supplied 2 other nations militarys as well as our own😂

[@RevolverOcelot79]

@@user-tn4ix6ir6z Yep but this just puts it all into perspective.

[@TheChronozoan]

Why would you want a fair fight when hundreds or thousands of your citizens lives are on the line?

[@glareicebutts1423]

@@user-tn4ix6ir6zand the army is the largest navy

[@evilwelshman]

Regarding the spending difference between the US and China / rest of the world, the difference isn't just solely due to equipment alone. It's also that salaries are high in the US, including for the military, which also operates an all-volunteer force. Once you account for the purchasing power parity between the US and China, the difference isn't quite as stark though the US still spends more than China. Also, for smaller countries that operate primarily conscript armies, it's surprising how much stuff you can get with a small budget when you effectively don't have to pay your soldiers.

[@user-tn4ix6ir6z]

volunteer armies are expensive but you get what you pay for

[@theofficialken1755]

We also flat out completely supply several militaries and so subsidize half of European militaries. No wonder we don't have free healthcare....and they do

[@Atreid3s]

​@@user-tn4ix6ir6zyou get what you pay for... Like losing in Afghanistan?

[@stephen_1987]

Salaries are relative. Apparently discussing salaries between Australian and US Troops is a little bit taboo for the Australian troops when the US are over for exercises. The US troops get paid much worse.

[@anchorread68]

stark example is how did Russia out produce US in term of artillery ammunition? addition to that not having enough Patriot missile to supply both middle-east and east-europe theatre at same time. Both is attritional warfare meaning a perfect test for the military capacity of US instead of counting vehicle in mothballed state during peacetime (eg: Like the 786 count of F-16 as stated cannot be sent to east-europe theatre, it was disassembled and stored in parking lot in the desert). Back to the original idea presented by the original post; the military cost in US might have been largely on the high cost of its personnel instead of the equipment.

[@grabnar4015]

I keep waiting for Simon to mention Elbonia 😂 (Forgotten Weapons fans let me get "Boo-Yahh!)

[@sethb3090]

All they need is some highly enriched bread

[@A_Haunted_Pancake]

M.E.G.A. !

[@jphilb]

And Ian got it from Dilbert.

[@munkeyman6298]

The US also operates somewhere around 800 bases around the world, from smaller FOBs to massive ones such as Ramstein in Germany. That adds a lot to the spending, even if we are just talking about keeping the lights on. It also covers not just the active duty pay, but retirement pay and benefits as well.

[@chargedx5768]

tas well 800 dollar hammers, 6000 collar toilet bowls etc...in short your military intentionally spend much more for things youd get cheaply on the civilian market by a factor of 600

[@112313]

Dude...those foreign bases were mostly paid for by the slave country (sorry, host country).

[@JohnDoe-ig1yw]

Modern day colonization

[@kimballdavis3167]

He didn't even mention Grandpa Buff or Franklin.

[@willythemailboy2]

Or fifty war tribes in a trench coat with a budget to defeat God.

[@colbywood1785]

HLC fanbase ftw

[@jskillet8912]

"Here's the kicker, it's free! But wait there's more...its a pay to win😅"

[@yousuff1]

I wonder what the real expenditure would be if everything wasn't sold at questionable prices (like $90,000 being spent on a packet of bushings).

[@iwantgoat]

$800 for a hammer

[@rtyrsson]

That's how the budgets for black projects are hidden. I've okay with it so long as there is accountability somewhere and something good comes of it.

[@forddon]

The questionable prices are almost always the result of Invoicing practices required by DOD accountants, an example would be a jet engine costing $4,000,000 and a package of bushings costing 4$ billed together with admisnistration costs added per DoD rules $180,000 adjusted price is: jet engine $4,090,000 package of bushings $90,004

[@moic9704]

Or sending Burguer King contractors to Afghanistan...

[@PurposefullyIneloquent]

Always happy to see a Dragunov in any video. It's my favourite rifle :)

[@Phrancis5]

Well a global presence - err military hegemony, doesn't come cheap. Also staying on the the forefront of the newest tech ain't cheap either.

[@Atreid3s]

Military hegemony? Lol. Look at the Red Sea.

[@Djamonja]

@@Atreid3s If they wanted to wipe out the Houthis, they could easily, but it would just escalate the mess in the middle east.

[@notmenotme614]

Making Lockheed-Martin lots of money, isn’t cheap.

[@terenceconnors9627]

You got the rifles section WRONG. While the various M-16 and M-5 models are still in use with the vast majority of US troops, the US Army has recently begun replacing the M-5 with Sig Sauer's 6.8x51mm XM7 rifle, which is an absolutley wicked firearm you should do a video on. The FN SCAR is only used by a few specialized units, will never see wide-spread adoption, and is slated to be replaced by the XM7, in part due to the superior performance of the .277 Sig Fury round versus the (wheezing, ancient) 7.62x51mm NATO round.

[@Mortablunt]

Still the XM7. Nobody’s getting the new gun. Don’t knock 7.62x51. Can’t wait for the use your feedback and performance analysis to come out for 277 furry and find it’s more trouble than it’s worth to keep operating with the multi part case and the insane pressures. It’s going to be horribly unreliable with all the different points of failure and extremely hard wear on equipment. For true hilarity it offers a 60% decrease in team fire power versus somebody with some thing like in like 5.45 or 5.56, a discrepancy so bad that the side with the smaller round could drop their machine guns and still have about 25% more firepower. It’s M14-round2.

[@murphynuglene3714]

7:54 wtf is that ACOG placement

[@usonumabeach300]

Don't forget, the 4th largest air force in the world is the USMC's. Lol

[@shonuff2382]

I would argue that Liberia likely has some of the most dedicated and selfless personnel in the world. They give what they don't actually have much, in an outsized role. I appreciate them for what they do.

[@clencheastwood1571]

This felt more like a side projects video in terms of detail

[@jamesleatherwood5125]

God! that megaprojects into tune is so good! and ive heard it a million times!! but it hits so hard every time!

[@RinksRides]

could you just for a moment imagine the sheer terror of what just those 270 A-10's 37mm BRRRRT could do to anyone's naval fleet? Talk about a cheat code!

[@Nishom0926]

Plot twist That big budget military is the one hiring those small militaries to do military things

[@Davey_066-vu7eg]

If anyone is interested, Habitual Linecrosser started doing a "series" abit ago which he's calling USA VS The world, he takes the US, and the a seperate country. For example hes done the UK, China, Iran, Canada, North Korea as a few. Hes done a total of 8 so far. He goes through every single COMBAT role vehicle, aircraft, ground, ships / subs all that good stuff, types of weapons, number of personel, other equipment such as anti air, artilery, pretty much anything thats combat related in either offense or defense. And he takes his thoughts of if he were in command of the US forces assuming were trying to invade the other country how he would set it up and preform such attack, what troops go where. SOme he's limited the US to 1 single branch, others its been all out every branch. But he goes into pretty good detail on it all and everything. If thats interesting to you I would definetly recommend it. He's I bealive currently in the Army as air defense. He's either gotten out and everything, or still in but im like 75% thinking he's still in. Anyways, hope everyone has a fantastic day. Wish you all well

[@jamesleatherwood5125]

Guud Schtuffs! Go, Murca! Yee Yee! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@barnettmcgowan8978]

800 Billion dollars of freedom!

[@MirzaAhmed89]

$2200 per person per year, or $6 per person per day, or 25 cents per person per hour.

[@barnettmcgowan8978]

@@MirzaAhmed89 It is an eye-watering amount of money to be sure. Getting your way in the world is not cheap. If you want the degree of power the US has in the world, you have to be willing to pay for it.

[@Mr.JimPickens]

So much freedom I hear eagle noises

[@mido3ds]

​@Mr.JimPickens Yoo Mr Jim Pickens personally!!!

[@npkiv]

Freedom? Explain what you mean by freedom. What freedom is unique US that other countries with lower military spending don’t have.

[@Raven-lo4wm]

I cannot escape War Thunder no matter where I go... The snail is hunting me

[@jeffleach9023]

While it's true that China has the larger navy in terms of number of boats, there's two things that need to be considered: 1) a huge number of those boats (likt 50% or more, I think) are not actually capable of serving as a blue-water navy, a problem the USN does not have, and 2) the US Navy blows China out of the water in terms of tonnage, so while we technically have fewer boats, they're bigger and more capable.

[@jaffar386]

This was a very interesting concept, and not poorly executed by any means. I quite enjoyed it and found it informative. But I think maybe you needed a very slightly longer format to even really have a chance at a video of this scope. The parts on China and the us both felt like you were just racing as fast you could to be under 20 minutes. I get there’s tons of stuff on both those countries, but it left the end feeling undercooked. I think you should definitely do more videos of this style, the in-depth comparison of very different Millies is absolutely fascinating. but maybe shoot for under 30 instead

[@Aemirys]

I need an even LONGER video like this!

[@Etheoma]

There is also the fact that Russia is almost certainly not maintaining those Nuclear weapons, or at least not a vast majority of them given that it costs the US $60 billion to maintain it's Nuclear weapons of which it has less of them. even assuming it cost 1/10 of that for Russia just because they can get cheaper labour and magical efficiency that's still 6 billion a year out of a budget of 75 billion, and I would bet money on the fact that even if they were spending that much of maintaining their stockpile most of the funds would be embezzled.

[@stevek6921]

And it was just a few months ago, wasn't it, that we heard the Russian rocket troops were draining the rockets' liquid fuel so they could cook their food.

[@EAWanderer]

When the US military budget hits $1 Trillion.... 😮

[@1986tessie]

The interest on U.S debt is over a trillion.

[@scarx4181]

It basically has to because of PPP advantages China has.

[@Benson_aka_devils_advocate_88]

There's a reason us Americans don't have free healthcare...

[@lucasokeefe7935]

That can so easily change without compromising national security. Big Pharma needs to be brought to heel

[@Tekzel]

​@@Benson_aka_devils_advocate_88No one has free Healthcare. Some have Healthcare paid for by others, which is not free. Some have Healthcare paid for by their far higher taxes. Which is, if you're counting, also not free.

[@Deanguilberry]

Always an impressive stat. The US has 377 KC-135 Stratotankers. These are four engine aerial refueling jets.

[@rtyrsson]

A military's true power is often (usually) in logistics. Without tankers most of our aircraft cannot easily fend off an enemy before they can reach us or strike them preemptively.

[@gumpyoldbugger6944]

@@rtyrsson As US General Omar Bradley stated, "Amateurs talk tactics, professionals study logistics”.

[@Djamonja]

The US aerial refueling fleet is more than 2x the rest of the world's militaries combined.

[@chargedx5768]

@@rtyrsson you mean carry out bombardments of poor middle easterners that cant afford anti air 5000 miles away from the US

[@chargedx5768]

@@Djamonja that is becase the rest of the world does not need a large number of aerial refuelling jets..why you idiots like to brag about those things is beyond me, like bragging about having the most carriers,youre competing with someone who is not competing trust me..if anyone at any point in time wants 600 refueling aircrafts for whatever reason they will build 600 refueling aircrafts for whatever reason thats how the rest of the world works..., remember when the USSR needed nukes they had 40000 of them..the most nukes help by any country at any point in time despite the usa being richer and inventing the thing in the first place.... same reason the usa has 2x the aerial refueling aircrafts because it is the only nation in the world that needs them to invade and force totalitarian authority on certain people....same way the British had the most bases outside their country to effectively control 70% of the world....its a matter of need

[@krasavchik8714]

11:00 298 Billion for China is not same as 298 would be for the US. 1 dollar goes a longer way in China than does in the US. Plus we don’t know the unofficial part of Chinese spendings. Could be as much as the official part of spendings.

[@confuciuslola]

It would have been interesting to see Afghanistans military against the US since they actually defeated the US in a conflict.

[@wiphosphophyllite]

Something so big and something so small.

[@rustythecrown9317]

That's what she said.

[@417jumps3]

Simon, this was an awesome video!! Thanks for the effort and research!!!!

Lack of research.

[@417jumps3]

If you say so

[@arthurbulhak1266]

RPD and RPK pictures should swap places, otherwise great video as always.

[@clintpmk2405]

Bro a j-20 can stand up against the f15, f16, and f18 (in theory) but without stealth its really juat a 4+ instead of a 5th generation aircraft. And since theres been at least 3 countries (india, taiwan, south korea)that have claimed they could easily see and track the j20. Its stealth capabilities are dubious at best.

[@perioguatexgaming1333]

S 400 can also “see” f-35 but the problem is maintaining a lock.

[@Theshropshireratter]

Love a video on how to build a military example for a independent Scotland or catalonia

[@damoncollins6046]

Is this sped up 1.5 times? Love the content. No second between comments are rough.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

0:55 - Mid roll ads 1:55 - Chapter 1 - Liberia 5:50 - Chapter 2 - Albania 10:30 - Chapter 3 - China 14:35 - Chapter 4 - The united states

[@baazinews1027]

thanks

[@stancil83]

The snicker at 3:48 was golden. Very much appreciated. As you can probably tell i'm not from Liberia. But I hear it's a wonderful place.

[@eoghanmcloughlin8854]

3 country's lacking the capacity to employ someone to come up with cool names

[@shakey2023]

10.08 I would love to find a video on country's Coast Guard boats the coast guards often underappreciated branch that should get a lot more love

[@PeterWhite-q1k]

Agreed and thank you!

[@NothernNate]

Together we stand, divided we fall 🤘🏼

[@SpidermanandJeny]

You didn't even mention the F-35 and it's variants. It's literally the second best fighter jet in the world! That's how much there is to mention!

[@chaddog313]

No mention of the F15 either

[@Ikit1Claw]

Those statistics are usually woefully inadequate as its usually just budget of defense ministry, while pretty much all countries also have defense spending outside budget of their ministry, and different countries will assign different stuff outside.

[@Marie579]

Do I detect a degree of sarcasm in this presentation?😂

[@888johnmac]

always .. lol

[@codycampbell6655]

Major correction needed about the J-20, it in now way could go toe to toe with the F-22 or F-35 it would be like a toddler fighting Andre the giant

[@phxJohn2010]

Waaait. Did I catch that right? Liberia sent its troops on UN Peacekeeping missions to other countries and Albania sent its troops to Peacekeeping missions in...Liberia? 😅🤷‍♂️

[@benrockefeller6334]

Yes. It truly is that weird.

[@Pyratemime]

18:32 Simon for got to mention the US second carrier fleet with the amphibious assault ships. The USN not content with having the most of one type of carrier had to make sure they had the most of two.

[@ScarecrowActual]

Hell yeah, classified docs as a sponsor, based Simon.

[@njabulombuyazi5132]

I always though the planes on US carries were part of the Normal Air force. I had no idea the Air Force and Navy Air force were two seperate things. I am honestly lost for words right now. The sheer scale of it all is mind boggling!!!

[@AageV]

Interesting that at judging by the shoulder patches at 5:08, Liberia apparently has 2 different flags 😂

[@moparvwfreak]

Great vid. That pic though of the US carriers, that's a birds eye view of Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton. How I know this, I drive past there on a regular basis. I know the surrounding buildings and roads. 😊

[@JohnandTeagan]

I was expecting an analysis of the current issues with the Houthis and the inability to stop them attacking vessels in the Red Sea.

[@oeliamoya9796]

1:52 to get to the good stuff (aka skip ad)

[@Royce16727]

I'd like how the F35 Lightning II was conspicuously absent from the list of "very good planes" in the US's Arsenal, lol.

[@jackvos8047]

Maybe they missed it because the stealth of the F35 is just that good.

[@LiterallyMojo]

Probably cause its in the "extremely good" category and not the "very good" category

[@Royce16727]

@@jackvos8047 it's so stealthy that not even Mega Projects can find it, lol. To be clear, it is obviously an extremely advanced and capable aircraft, but it cost way too much for what it does. 🤷

[@user-gv4zb9rc6u]

​@Royce16727 funny considering it can effectively take on the F-15EX in air to air combat while having a similar price investment. A lot of the price is because of R&D more so than actual production.

[@Royce16727]

@@user-gv4zb9rc6u I absolutely agree with you. It's a great stealth fighter-bomber that can fly rings around just about anything else in the sky currently. It's the developmental cost overruns that I'm referring to. As opposed to what we eventually got, the $300 billion spent should have given us a plane that can turn literally invisible, do my taxes, and run for city council all on its own. Great plane, overly expensive to develop. That's how I understand it.

[@Mrmagoo1077]

8:15 your editors got the labels switched. The top firearm is an RPK snd the bottom one is an RPD

[@textmachine09]

Don't forget that the US marines has around 1,300 aircraft in their inventory and the US army has 4,400 crew aircraft.

[@dooogides9176]

And they fought a 3th world country over 20 YEARS! And just give up?! What is the power if u can’t use it right?

[@josepholiver6733]

More spending doesn’t necessarily mean better gear or better equipment. There has to be a balance of both

[@abadatha]

The WarThunder adverts are a bummer, because those of us that have been playing since it was in closed beta definitely can't get it.

[@Supernaut2000]

Wait a moment here...Liberia has the worlds highest amount of ships registered to it! That means it has over 100X the amount of ships than any other nation! Go Liberia!

[@sebastianfries274]

As the saying in congress goes; a $500 30 pack of small screws a day keeps the Islamic State away.

[@Thomas_corbett]

Honestly i think the more impressive part is it logistics system having the most or best is good but not if you can't support it anywhere in the world

[@Booberly]

My take away will always be, no matter how far technology goes sticks and stones can break bones

[@stevestolarczyk8972]

An important factor that you seem to have overlooked is training. That especially sets the nations at the very top apart from the middle tier. That's a huge difference between Russia and the top two, for example. They're having to get their training on the battlefield. That's especially costly.

[@AustinNader]

The RPD and RPK images/labels are incorrect/swapped @ 8:15

[@rtyrsson]

Simon, you got the graphic of the RPD and RPK backward. The RPD is a belt-fed weapon, whereas the RPK is a drum-fed weapon. You're staff missed on that one. Okay... I'm nitpicking. Forgive me. I do always enjoy all of your channels.

[@stancil83]

Oh boy, that ending. All of that money spent. Must be why it's called the money shot. As you could probably tell i'm not from Earth. But I hear it's a wonderful place.

[@dad-ms8mz]

I think fighting terrorists and locals is far more different then fighting an organised army , it's very hard to distinguish between normal person and the person we are fighting against.

[@detallguy5396]

For the military numbers I would have clarified that America is entirely volunteer-based

[@tnegras99]

So, funny thing about the carriers in the pic at 18:36ish, two of those were mothballed and decommissioned Kitty Hawk class carriers that have been scrapped. Not even nuclear boats! I know cuz I used to drive by them all the time.

[@jim-jam7304]

Owned a M1028 for few years that was a retired National Guard radio truck

[@CowboyTech]

Not really touched upon was the capabilities of each countries military personnel, and I know it was not the subject either. China has more hulls, but no Chinese sailor or officer has seen combat. None of their hulls have seen combat. You can train, but until that training is tested, it remains an unknown aspect. The American Navy has been fighting wars since its inception since the 1700s and they've won them. The same goes for the USAF and naval aviation.

[@rednvss]

and the most important fact simon did not even touch on, the USA warfigters are better trained ( including seals, green berets , rangers, delta force, USMC MARSOC) and have much more actual battlefield experience. We spend more on training then many countries entire GDP. USMC Veteran

[@delanofernandes6471]

yet all those forces and drones and 2.4 trillion spend and flipflop warriors came back to power

[@delanofernandes6471]

it funny how you brag about military spending compared to the homelessness and drug addicts epidemic and the fact that people go bankrupt for paying for school or go to the doctor. i genuinely find that funny

[@bennyklabarpan7002]

the british and french are much better trained. america even lost to afghanistan, lol

[@cliveambrose2251]

@@bennyklabarpan7002 Everyone lost to Afghanistan. Graveyard of empires.

[@bennyklabarpan7002]

@@cliveambrose2251 no lol. persia and mongolia held it for millenia

[@ZoomZoomMX3]

The B51 BUFF is not mentioned.... The BUFF is epic and can carry impressive amounts of bombs

[@stevek6921]

And the B-52 (sorry, nitpicking) is older than most of us who watch this channel. The Big Ugly Fat Fuc...um, Feller, is one epic airframe.

[@JoeMama-oq8wl]

Being a human stuck in america, i can say 1 thing about our armed forces. Those that field the weapons physically, not from a desk, & manually pilot vehicles, are undeniably (mostly) badasses. Those desk jockey "video game warriors" are gonna have a tough time, if a "bad" actor knocks out enough of the ailing power grid, or hits with cyber attacks. Then, the $800+B wont be equal to maybe half that...

[@johnkerich876]

This has not aged well, you really need to update again and add drones into the equation. I'm not sure any of this stuff is effective anymore.

[@stevek6921]

Excellent point. We've watched the Russians and Ukrainians redefine military tactics for a couple of years. The fallout will be huge.

[@RooRguy27]

Saying a J20 could go up against an f22 is just ridiculous

[@RevolverOcelot79]

You're right and it's an absolutely ridiculous statement he made. A lot of his videos either omit important data or he makes stuff up which is annoying

[@anchorread68]

actually it depend entirely on missile's homing capabilities, you can have Mig-21 launching hypothetical advance missile that can track J20 or F22 and win. Or you can have F22 or J20 launch poor missile at each other and miss all the time due to stealth. (In both case AWACs can be used to counter stealth and share contact info with Mig-21, F22, or J20, and guide missile, with the jet's role as mere 'missile truck')

[@TheEathenFaust]

Ok, well, that’s all well and good but where do they park all that shit? 😂

[@bettyswallocks6411]

Albania’s army is outnumbered by Albania’s most famous daughter’s stage dancers.

[@kamikazedamutt6570]

Along with the $ difference, you also need to take into account military where people want to serve vs those who are forced.

[@taimanao7954]

Thank you

[@Canthus13]

So... Liberia's REAL budget is much, much higher. They rely on donations that are worth way more than their annual budget.

[@brianpolyak9274]

Every time I see one of these videos I remember why I get taxed what I do😂

[@IzzyTheEditor]

Ok, gotta stop ya right there. The AR-15 is/and has ONLY EVER BEEN a civilian weapon. PERIOD. It has NEVER been used in ANY war by the US. We only use M4's as far as that platform goes. They are very different even though they may "look" similar. Anyone who says different has never worked as an armorer in supply maintaining them for a living. Armalite made the AR-15 as a CIVILIAN-ONLY firearm, then made the M-16 with a better barrel and the select-fire FCG for the vietnam war. (we know how that config went) This then much later became the M4 changing the barrel, and dropping the A2 sights for the pic-rail for optics etc.

[@outerheaven2k7]

its just a gun, chill

[@Kelebora]

He never said they used AR-15s in war. He said the US military uses "AR-15 derived designs", which are the M16 and M4.

[@MattBellzminion]

I remember reading roughly 20 years ago that the US Coast Guard was the world's fifth-largest navy. No longer, as it's slipped to 12th. That's okay, though, as long as they can defeat the most formidable craft (now including mini-submarines) that Central & South American narcotraffickers can launch.

[@LaughingOrange]

The 12th largest navy basically being a spin-off that only deals with domestic waters, really shows how big the actual US Navy is.

[@corporateempires9377]

You are incorrect about the USN being the second largest AF in the world. But depending on whether or not you include the Marines air fleet of about 1500 aircraft (which you really should because they don't do much good without their Naval transports and mostly work in tandem with the Navy) then the Navy would be the THIRD BIGGEST. So if you include both of those together it goes: 1) USAF, ~5500 aircraft mostly FIXED wing; 2) US ARMY, ~4500 aircraft mostly ROTARY wing, and if you're thinking I cheated, most countries' regular AF include both fixed and rotary (helos) together, and the fact that these are no joke aircraft to boot--just as lethal as the f-22 or f-15 in their specific mission sets, like the Apache; 3) US Navy, ~2700 for Navy, 1500 for Marines, much more traditional makeup of fixed and rotary but with the added badassicity of the ability to take this massive air fleet to any shore in the world! 4-5 spots go to Russia and China at around 4K aircraft, take your pick, China is probably bigger now since the Ukraine War.

[@ndmmt-wu7kz]

But what you missed in the comparisons is the ability to project power far from one’s borders.That is where the U.S. is still unparalleled.

[@Fazoo247]

"mouse wheel turns" shows Apple mouse which has no mouse wheel

[@CapybaraHunter187]

You forgot to mention the us navy’s submarines. Each and every one of them is nuclear powered and many capable of carrying nuclear Torpedos.

[@darth_olomew]

Simon is our generations Walter Cronkite lol

[@stancil83]

And hopefully our mercy will forever persist. As you can probably tell i'm not in China. But I hear it's a wonderful place.

[@TeamWolfmountain]

Its blows my mind the actual spending of the US on its military

[@rtyrsson]

Also consider, though the US and China have equivalent numbers of troops, the US has higher number of armored vehicles, and China a higher number of ships; and none of comparable quality or experience of personnel... the US pays its troops better than China (still underpaid though), and there are extensive MWR (Morale, Welfare, and Recreation) programs. The Department of Defense has its own school system for the children of servicemen (which I recall as being a higher educational standard to municipal school systems), as well as housing, and many other financial programs, supplements, food support, and other incentives and benefits. These things are generally not offered by our "near-peer" adversaries. On an average Base or Post you'll find a department store run by the DoD (PX or BX), DoD run gas stations and convenience store and liquor stores, prominent brand fast food, and recreational facilities like bowling allies, clubs and bars, and even self-service fully kitted-out auto shops called "hobby shops." The Army, for example, has its own hospital system, separate from the VA hospitals, though in the absence of the VA veterans may us. This is why you'll find a higher percentage of career servicemen in the US than foreign forces, who often rely on conscription to fill out the junior ranks. Another example: If the old model still holds true, the Russians choose the brightest new conscripts to send to NCO (non-commissioned officer) school and they turn out sergeants after a school; whereas the US trains soldiers, Marines, and sailors that have already proven themselves as rank-and-file servicemen who have risen through the junior ranks. The quality is cultivated. There are other western services that do similar to the US, but not as comprehensively as the US. Much of the budget can be claimed by this. In the process of all these benefits offered to our troops there is a significant amount of financial fraud, waste, and abuse by civilian DoD bureaucrats; and sometimes sheer incompetence. If that were addressed, we might have a leaner force, financially speaking, without trimming benefits and streamlining efforts. That saved budget could be revolved into better pay and better training, making US servicemen better compensated and better trained than they already are.

[@TK-rz6hj]

You really should add the caveat that a large portion of that 800B is actually just personnel healthcare and benefits.

[@EbyTheDragon]

You've clearly never looked at the breakdown of the military budget. It's an incredibly small portion of the budget. Insurance is a measley 0.4% and that's one of the best benefits military personnel get

[@TK-rz6hj]

@@EbyTheDragon You've clearly never heard of the VA

[@EbyTheDragon]

The VA has a separate budget from the rest of the military, so it is 0% of that 800 billion

[@TK-rz6hj]

@@EbyTheDragon It does not. It is part of the DOD budget. That's the department in charge of the military, if you weren't sure.

[@EbyTheDragon]

The DoD has a total budget of 2.1 trillion. The VA is not included in this 800 billion military budget. The VA is a separate 400 billion, which is, again, 0% of the 800 billion.

[@sionsoschwalts2762]

At 8:15 the tags for the RPD and RPK and swapped around!