Military power of USA & France
USA vs France
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USA is a country located in North America with an area of 9,857,306 km2 (land boundries: 12,002 km and costline 19,924 km). The capital of USA is Washington. The number of inhabitants is 331,449,281.
The United States is a member of NATO and was one of the original 12 countries to sign the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949. The US military's inventory is comprised almost entirely of domestically-produced weapons systems defense industry is capable of designing, developing, maintaining, and producing the full spectrum of weapons systems. The United States is the world's leading arms exporter.
More about USA militaryFrance is a country located in
metropolitan France: Western Europe with an area of 640,679 km2 (land boundries: 3,956 km and costline 4,853 km
metropolitan France:>3,427 km). The capital of France is Paris. The number of inhabitants is 67,413,000.
France was one of the original 12 countries to sign the North Atlantic Treaty, which created NATO in 1949. France and the UK signed in 2010 a declaration on defense and security cooperation that included greater military interoperability and a Combined Joint Expeditionary Force. The CJEF was assessed as having full operating capacity with the ability to rapidly deploy over 10,000 personnel. The French military's inventory consists mostly of domestically-produced weapons systems, including some jointly-produced with other European countries. France has a defense industry capable of manufacturing the full spectrum of military weapons systems.
More about France militaryIf you want to check the comparison in terms of economic ratios check out CompareEconomy.com
Military expenditures
 US |  FR | |
|---|---|---|
| Military budget: | 816 billion $ | 54 billion $ |
| Percent of GDP: | 3.3% | 1.7% |
Manpower
| US | FR | |
|---|---|---|
| Active personnel: | 1,358,500 | 208,750 |
| Reserve personnel: | 799,500 | 141,050 |
| Available for military: | 73,270,043 | 14,563,662 |
Land Forces
| US | FR | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tanks: | 6,612 | 406 | |
| Armoured fighting vehicles: | 41,237 | 6,463 | |
| Total artillery: | 4,243 | 134 | |
| Self-propelled artillery: | 1,498 | 109 | |
| Rocket artillery: | 1,366 | 13 |
Air Forces
| US | FR | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Total aircraft: | 12,930 | 1,253 | |
| Fighter aircraft: | 461 | 56 | |
| Multirole aircraft: | 2,417 | 146 | |
| Attack aircraft: | 566 | 86 | |
| Helicopters: | 4,741 | 540 | |
| UCAV (combat drone): | 334 | 12 |
Navy
| US | FR | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Total naval: | 460 | 111 | |
| Aircraftcarriers: | 20 | 4 | |
| Destroyers: | 94 | 11 | |
| Frigates: | 0 | 11 | |
| Corvettes: | 22 | 0 | |
| Submarines: | 69 | 10 |
☢ Nuclear weapons
USA
The first country to develop and to military use nuclear warheads in the world. Everything started from the Manhattan project, a research that had one particular goal in focus – to develop and produce the first nuclear weapon. Americans were the first to wield such powerful weapon. Everything started in 1941, which is date of the beginning of Manhattan project. Since the end of the Second World War, United States became the leading country when it comes to possessing nuclear warheads and it lasted approximately to 1980s. We should also bear in mind that United States are also the only nation that ever used nuclear weapon in military conflict.
In 1960, the amount of warheads stored by Americans exceeded 30,000. However, it is worth to note that throughout the entire period of the so-called Cold War, USA managed to build approximately 70,000 nuclear warheads, what is more than all other countries with access to nuclear weapons combined. From the first test that happened in 1945 to this day, the USA conducted 1054 tests of atomic bombs. Still, as a result of introduced restrictions on the amount of warheads one state can possess, the current number has dropped to 6500 warheads. Noteworthy is also the fact that out of this number, United States deployed only 1600.
France
France managed to research and develop its own nuclear weapon in 1960. The test, known as, Gerboise Bleue, was the result of mostly French research. One of the main figures that played crucial role in the entire process of developing the bomb was General Pierre Marie Gallois. He was concerned that the Suez Crisis, which started in 1956, would show the world how insignificant France became, since out of all Great Powers in the world, they were the only one without possessing its own nuclear arsenal. The tests were conducted on the terrains of Sahara Desert.
At this moment France owns 300 nuclear warheads, out of which almost all are deployed. What is more, compared to Great Britain, they made more tests, approximately 210. Noteworthy is the fact that the development of the first nuclear bomb in France as well as its tests were a bit controversial. It was due to the fact that France allowed Israeli observers to attend the tests, providing them with almost unrestricted access to all the data. It was quite important, since Israel, together with United Kingdom and France, were trying to invade Egypt.
Military service
USA
18 years of age (17 years of age with parental consent) for male and female voluntary service; no conscription; maximum enlistment age 42 (Army), 27 (Air Force), 34 (Navy), 28 (Marines); service obligation 8 years, including 2-5 years active duty (Army), 2 years active (Navy), 4 years active (Air Force, Marines); DoD is eliminating prohibitions restricting women from assignments in units smaller than brigades or near combat units.
France
18-25 years of age for male and female voluntary military service; no conscription; 1-year service obligation; women serve in noncombat post.