US won every major battle in Vietnam. That war was "lost" because of politics at home. People were disillusioned with the war.
We also happen to have the most powerful military to ever exist.
It really is no contest. The US military has such a clear dominance on military technology, education, and capabilities it's not even funny.
- The US is responsible for 41% of global military expenditures. That's right the US is responsible for almost half of the world's military expenditures. The U.S. spends more on defense than the next seven countries combined... $620 BILLION.
- The US Navy has the SECOND largest Air Force in the world. First is the US Air Force.
- The US has the second largest active military in the world after China. This is complemented by the US's air and naval forces. Speaking of which:
- The US has the most aircraft carriers in the world BY FAR at 10. No other country even has Nimitz class carriers. The US is building an 11th. The UK is tied with Italy with non Nimitz class carriers at 2. The US has as many carriers in service as the rest of the world. Think of each one as a mobile air force base. These are all Nimitz-class carriers, meaning they are a class of super-carriers that can hold about 90 planes each, travel at around 30 knots, and house 2 nuclear reactors for propulsion. These motherfuckers can go over 20 years without refueling! That means the US has 10 mobile air force bases that essentially never rests. The US is the undisputed Queen Bitch of the seas.
And that's only the carriers. Globally, there are 28 Cruisers and 150 Destroyers.
The US owns 22 of those Cruisers and 62 of those Destroyers.The US has the biggest air force, bar none. Technologically, the Russians have come out with an almost equivalent air fighter but the US has a much larger air force and the logistical capability to fight anywhere efficiently.
- As if all these conventional weapons aren't enough, the US's nuclear capabilities are mind-boggling. Everyone knows the US and Russia generally have the same amount of nuclear weapons (around 5,000) but the US's delivery systems are unparalleled. The US holds 71 of 134 total nuclear powered submarines in the world.
Out of these 71, 18 are Ohio-class. These are capable of holding 24 Trident SLBM missiles that each hold up to 8 MIRV (multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle) nuclear warheads. Each of these MIRV warheads hold a firepower of 100 kilotons of TNT. That means each of these subs could hold 24 missiles that can each separate into 8 nuclear warheads, totaling 192 warheads, each with a range of 4,600 miles. That means a sub off of NYC could hit Anchorage. You read that right. We essentially have 18 mobile nuclear launch bases that can move underwater.
Say there is knowledge of an impending nuclear attack by, say, North Korea. Suppose that US satellites saw North Koreans fueling the missiles and that they were going to launch a warhead. Before they were even done fueling, I am sure the US would have a few subs in the area and be capable of independently targeting each major city and military site in North Korea and nuking them. If they wanted to.
Forbes from a few years ago about whether China could sink a US Carrier.. There was a discovery show on the Nimitz class carrier and it stated that a single US Nimitz carrier was the fifth most powerful national air force in the world by itself.
