Armed forces

a Macedonian phalanx

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Weapons Artillery Biological Camouflage Cavalry Chemical Class Disinformation Drone Electronic Infantry Nuclear Psychological Unconventional Armor Barrage Combined arms Conventional Cyber Denial Lawfare Loitering Music Lawfare Loitering Music
Tactics Battle Charge Counterattack Counter-rebellion (see Rebellion) Envelopment Guerrilla Siege Trench Withdrawal List of military tactics Aerial Cavalry Defeat in detail Foxhole Morale Rapid dominance Swarming Tactical objective Target saturation
Operational Blitzkrieg Expeditionary Deep operation Maneuver Operational manoeuvre group
Strategy Attrition Defence in depth Fabian Offensive Scorched earth List of military strategies and concepts Counter-offensive Culminating Mosaic Deception Defensive Depth Goal Naval
Grand strategy Containment Economic Limited Philosophy Political Religious Strategic Technology Theater Total war
Administrative Branch Policy Staff Training Service Sociology
Organization Chain of command Command and control Doctrine Engineers Intelligence Ranks Technology and equipment
Personnel Military recruitment Conscription Recruit training Military specialism Women in the military Children in the military Transgender people and military service Conscientious objector Counter-recruitment
Logistics Military–industrial complex Arms industry Materiel Supply-chain management Main operating base Forward operating base Outpost
Science Power projection Loss of Strength Gradient
Law Court-martial Justice Perfidy Martial law War crime
Theory Air supremacy Full-spectrum dominance Overmatch

The armed forces are the backbone of defending the security of their countries on land, sea, and air. They are organised, armed, and trained to achieve the goals set by the state that they fight for.

Divisions

Many countries in the present day separate their armed forces that fight on land, at sea, in the air, and policing the border. These groups are usually called:

• Army
• Navy
• Air force
• Paramilitary

Armed Forces Media

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  NATO military ceremony in Pabradė, Lithuania, November 2014

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  Countries by number of active soldiers (2009)

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  Depiction of ancient Egyptian military formation

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  Finnish and American soldiers training together in arctic conditions in Lapland, Finland, January 6–16, 2015

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  The structure of a simple guerrilla warfare organization

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  A frontline Ukrainian soldier with an anti-drone rifle, which uses directed energy to disable its target. The mainstream use of drone technology in the Russian invasion of Ukraine led to a need to research, develop and deploy effective counter-measures.

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  Afghan and British military cargo trucks preparing a convoy to resupply a forward operating base in Afghanistan, 2011

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  A Japan Air Self-Defense Force Kawasaki C-2 military transport aircraft conducting an airdrop demonstration over Miho Air Base, 2018

Related pages

• Military