USA Vs North Korea Military Comparison
Military Comparison
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| USA Vs North Korea |
It is a roar in the jungle, a confrontation on the 38th parallel. The North Korea versus the United States of America. Kim Jong Un vs. ... well, we're not sure who really because this script was written before the presidential election. It's the American bald eagle versus the North Korean ... junk pigeon? ... it doesn't really look like North Korea has an official national animal. It's a showdown the world has been waiting for decades, but how do these two antagonistic powers compare? Who really has the upper hand in a showdown on the Korean peninsula? For this scenario, let's compare the two countries alone, and without the help of allies, to see how they actually compare to each other. Overall, the United States is ranked the number one military power in the world, and currently the world's only superpower. It is a common mistake to call Russia or China a superpower, but the definition of a superpower is a state that can exert economic, cultural and military influence around the world. Currently, the United States is the only nation with military fleets and cultural / economic clout to do so. However, North Korea is not far behind in military department, and despite being an economically destitute hermit kingdom, it has managed to field an army that places it 25th in the world rankings. This is because most of the North Korean government's official budget goes to its military, and the military also receives hundreds of millions in undercover funding, usually the result of state-sponsored criminal enterprises.
In terms of manpower, the United States has an active duty force of 1.4 million people, compared to 1.28 million in North Korea. The United States also has a larger reserve force, with 860,000 troops versus North Korea's reserve force of 600,000. The United States barely has the numerical advantage here, but in a grueling multi-year conflict, the United States has the demographic advantage, with 4.2 million reaching service age each year compared to a paltry 415,000 in North Korea. If North Korea wants to win, it is clear that it has to secure victory as soon as possible. However, wars cost money and it turns out to be an extremely expensive affair. America's latest defense budget is about $ 750 billion, compared to North Korea's 1.6 billion. Of course, this is just the official government figure, and North Korea's actual defense budget is easily hundreds of millions higher thanks to all that black market activity; Remember kids, using drugs may seem tubular, but it's only helping North Korea go nuclear. But let's take a look at all the toys those big budgets buy. In the air, the US has 13,264 aircraft, compared with 949 for North Korea. There is not only a huge disparity in numbers, but also a huge disparity in capabilities.
The United States currently relies on the F-15 Eagle and the F-18 Superhornet as its primary air defense and air strike platforms. These two aircraft are fourth generation models, but have received serious enhancements in their capabilities that push them to a 4.5 generation capacity. Complementing the US fighting forces are the 187 F-22s, the world's only fully functioning fifth-generation fighter and officially the world's deadliest fighter jet. However, as more and more F-35s connect and reach initial operational capability status, the entire US fighter fleet is poised to become the fifth generation, a significant advantage on the battlefield. against any enemy. North Korea's air forces are decades behind the US in capacity. Its most numerous fighter jet, the Chengdu J-7, was developed in the 1960s and exported by China. Its most capable aircraft, the Mig-29, was developed in the 1970s as a counterweight to the American F-15; however, North Korea's Mig 29 is only 35, and they are believed to lack anything resembling modern avionics. To make matters worse, North Korea's entire inventory of air-to-air missiles heralds the Cold War, and the nation owns fewer than 500 of them. An air battle between the United States and North Korea would be useless for the hermit kingdom, which is why its pilots are trained in kamikaze tactics. If war broke out, the North Korean air force would launch one-way strikes through the DMZ, knowing that its air force could never survive an air war. Yet in the mountainous terrain of North Korea, perhaps no aircraft is more important.
Not only is each Apache equipped with state-of-the-art electronics and sensors, but these agile birds are extremely difficult to start. When an entire group of Apaches were ambushed in a protracted battle against insurgents on the ground in Afghanistan, it is famous that the United States only lost one bird while decimating the ground forces below them. North Korea's 20 attack helicopters are the Soviet-made Mig-24 'Hinds', an extremely capable attack helicopter that, despite being outdated, still packs an impressive punch. The good news for US ground forces is that North Korea only operates a small number of these powerful Russian birds of prey. On the ground, North Korea is almost shoulder to shoulder with the United States in terms of armored forces. With 6,045 battle tanks versus 6,289 in the US, the two tank armies are almost even in terms of numbers. However, in terms of quality, well, North Korea once again suffers a lot. North Korea's most formidable tank is a native upgrade to the Soviet T-62 known as Ch'ŏnma-ho. Since the T-62 is North Korea's most numerous and near-modern design, a large number of them were upgraded with new armor, fire and sight systems, and other sensors. These may indeed be improved designs, but the main model is still the 1960s T-62. North Korea is known to operate at least 1,000 of these tanks, but may have more than 1,200.
North Korea's second most prolific tank is the T-54 and T-55, of which it operates 2,000. These antiquated, underpowered tanks were terrifying when the Soviet Union first launched them in the 1950s, but as Iraq discovered in the first Gulf War, they pose absolutely no threat to America's modern Abrams. On the ground, North Korean tank forces simply could not hope to do more than delay an American armored advance. However, one area in which North Korea rises above the US is in the size of its rocket artillery forces, with 2,110 to the US's 1,366. rockets may not have the fire resistance of traditional artillery, but it provides an extremely crucial advantage over regular artillery: firing all of its ammunition in extremely rapid succession, rocket artillery puts all its steel on the target in seconds, giving troops and vehicles little time to seek shelter. While the US has more modern versions of rocket projectors, the technology is so simple that even North Korea's Soviet-era technology poses a significant and deadly threat to US forces. In the seas, the United States has a fleet of 490 ships compared to 984.
North Korea may seem to have the advantage in numbers, but that is because the vast majority of its ships are small torpedo boats that cannot operate far away. of the coast. The second largest element of the North Korean navy is its submarine forces, with one of the largest submarine forces in the world between 60 and 80. 40 of these submarines are of the medium-size diesel-electric Sang-O class, built in the late 1990s. While not particularly advanced compared to the Los Angeles and Virginia class nuclear submarines of the US Navy, diesel-electric submarines used in a defensive posture near the coast can be an incredibly effective force, even if they are technologically outgunned. By prowling close to shore and running quietly on battery power, North Korea could simply choose to have these subs on the lookout for oncoming American ships and launch deadly ambushes. The nation's willingness to operate these ships in a kamikaze style similar to its air force only adds to the lethality of North Korea's submarine force. By comparison, the United States operates 66 submarines, most of which are Los Angeles-class attack submarines. These are in the process of being phased out by the new Virginia-class, which incorporates many of the Seawolf-class technologies at a lower cost and therefore less effective than the deadly Seawolf, which is sadly too expensive to place in large quantities.
3 of the legendary Seawolf-class submarines remain in service with the Navy, with no short-term plans to retire them, although the Navy plans to acquire a new modern variant of the Seawolf for use on extremely important or sensitive missions. With 20 carriers, including smaller carriers intended to support amphibious operations, the US is guaranteed to have air power anywhere in the world that needs it. By comparison, North Korea does not have an aircraft carrier and could not hope to operate one in its current economic climate, much less ensure that it survives first contact with US forces. Yet despite all these naval advantages for the US, North Korea once again has the advantage in one area: mine warfare. With 23 vessels specially equipped to mine sea lanes, up from 11 in the US, North Korea is poised to make an amphibious strike against it by the US superior fleet. A costly affair in terms of hand of work and equipment. Sea mine clearance is an extremely dangerous and time-consuming business, and with so many mine-laying ships, North Korea could make entire beaches and ports completely inaccessible to US forces.
The military advantage is clearly in favor of the United States, but a confrontation between the two countries has much more nuance than simply comparing numbers. The United States must maintain global commitments even during a war, which means that it could not commit more than 30-40% of its total force in a conflict with North Korea. That brings the number parity down a lot on the American side, although much higher equipment and training, or force multipliers, practically ensure an American victory. However, it would be an extremely costly victory for the United States and its allies, as North Korea is well prepared to make a northward advance from South Korea an extremely bloody affair. With its mine-laying capabilities, the North Korean navy could render the ocean around the Korean peninsula inaccessible for weeks, disrupting not only military operations but also civilian traffic and closing one of the busiest commercial arteries. of the world. Then there is North Korea's nuclear program, the scope of which is still unknown. What is clear is that North Korea has the materials and technology for several bombs; some estimates put North Korea's current arsenal at 30-40 weapons. Even though most of these weapons could not reach the US mainland, they would make any conflict on the peninsula an extremely dangerous affair, and a losing Kim Jong Un is likely to decide to use nuclear weapons against the forces of USA and South Korea instead of being deposed. like so many dictators before him. Now go to weird things that only exist in North Korea.