11 Countries with the Best Military Special Forces in the World

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In this article, we look at the 11 countries with the best military special forces in the world. You can skip our detailed analysis on the most formidable and well-trained units a country can boast and head over directly to the 5 Countries with the Best Military Special Forces in the World.

The concept of special forces varies among different countries. While some view them as elite soldiers of the military, others consider the forces as special units of the armed forces tasked to perform specialized operations. Irrespective of how their roles are interpreted, the special forces are made up of the finest soldiers recruited from across the country.

What makes these soldiers special is their level of training and personality traits such as strong mentality and bravery. They are also equipped with state-of-the-art military hardware that allows them to dominate the battlefield and overcome challenging scenarios that come in their way. For instance, according to an analysis on Business Insider, weapons and gear the US military special forces head to the field with include assault rifles such as the M4A1 and MK18, the MK46 and MK48 machine guns, as well as other vital equipment like night-vision goggles, first aid kits, GPS devices, ballistic helmets, and belts. It is common for these troops to carry grenade launchers and anti-tank missiles as well if they need to.

The FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missile, jointly developed by Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) and RTX Corporation (NYSE:RTX), had been deployed extensively by the United States in its combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. The American forces had experienced over 5,000 engagements with this weapon system during the war in these two countries, as noted by defense news website, Army Technology.

More than 45,000 units of these portable and platform-employed anti tank missiles had been produced until 2019 by these companies since its first launch in 1996. While RTX Corporation (NYSE:RTX) builds the command launch unit (CLU), Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) shoulders the responsibility of assembling the missile itself.

Javelin is being widely used by the Ukrainian military as well to repulse Russian invasion of their country. According to a report, as of late August 2023, the US had provided over 10,000 Javelin anti-tank missiles to Kyiv, which has helped Ukraine in keeping Russia at bay from the capital. Owing to the demand for this weapon, both Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) and RTX Corporation (NYSE:RTX) have been taking measures to increase Javelin production from 2,000 units to 3,500 per year.