If history has taught us anything, it’s that we never learn from it. Though we live in a brave new world, one 2,500-year-old\u00a0Latin saying is still a universal truth.<\/p>\n

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“If you want peace, prepare for war.”<\/strong> –\u00a0De Re Militari, 450 B.C.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

You’d think the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction has to stop the endless cycle of war. But even without nukes, some countries have enough fire-power\u00a0to cause an\u00a0extinction-level scenario. But which army would win in the war to end all wars?<\/p>\n

A superior arsenal\u00a0doesn’t imply\u00a0victory but, in the age of unmanned drones and high-tech equipment, neither does\u00a0raw manpower. So, to determine which armies are truly superior, we had to consider all the important variables.<\/p>\n

We used the number of deployed\/reserve troops, defense\u00a0funding capacity and military\u00a0equipment quality as\u00a0determining factors. Each of them accounts for\u00a030% of a nation’s military rating. The deciding factors, worth 10%, are\u00a0oil production and missile-defense capabilities.<\/p>\n

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Here are the results – follow along with the slideshow to see all 25 of the world’s largest armies.<\/h2>\n

25. Ukraine<\/h1>\n

When Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula, Ukraine launched a mass military overhaul. Just one year later, its active army personnel has tripled and defense spending went up by 250%.<\/p>\n

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• Active Personnel<\/strong>: 1,160,000<\/li>\n
• Defense Budget<\/strong>: $4,880,000,000<\/li>\n
• Armed land vehicles<\/strong>: 14,000<\/li>\n
• Multi-launch Rocket Systems<\/strong>: 625<\/li>\n
• Aircraft (fighters, interceptors, attack copters)<\/strong>: 234<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

  When it succeeded from the USSR, Ukraine had\u00a0the world’s second largest nuclear arsenal.\u00a0Experts estimate that, if\u00a0Ukraine\u00a0continues restoring its military\u00a0at this rate, it can reclaim ‘superpower status’ by 2020.<\/p>\n

  

  en.wikipedia.org<\/p><\/div>\n

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