There cannot be any doubt that, in the technological sophistication of its weapon systems, the sheer diversity of its capabilities, and its potential for sustaining combat operations anywhere in the world, the United States military machine is today unsurpassed. The American soldier, sailor, airman and marine could fight any aggressor confident that their weaponry, training and back-up are, in most cases, at least as good as and, in many circumstances, superior to those of their foe.
But the last ten years have seen such an ominous increase in numbers of Soviet weapons, and such advances in the technological sophistication of those weapons, that the United States’ military superiority is in danger of being overtaken quantitatively and, more alarmingly, qualitatively also, in almost every military dimension.
For the first time, all the combined power and major weapons available to the US armed forces are described, illustrated and evaluated between the covers of one incredible volume. In 272 pages, this most superb book examines in detail all the most important tanks, combat aircraft, warships, missiles and small arms, and analyses the organization and firepower of the US armed forces individually, and as a total force.
Expert authors, internationally respected in military and political circles, describe in more than 150,000 words how the United States could and would defend itself and its allies, and project its immense power overseas to protect vital interests.
But power is relative, and this information-packed book also objectively measures the adequacy of the United States’ capacity for making war, taking into consideration the nation’s political will, the nature and extent of its assumed obligations and interests, and the comparative capabilities of its potential adversaries.
Hundreds of action photographs- most in splendid full colour- accurate and informative charts and tables, many enlightening maps and explicit tables, combine with fascinating text to present the full story of the formidable US war machine. In the entire history of armed combat there has never been a more powerful military machine, and never a more powerful military publication