These countries have the most powerful tanks

Tanks are a key component of the armed forces of many countries around the world.
These offer a powerful combat and defense capability and are also used as a yardstick to define the capability of an army.
Russia, the United States and China are among the countries with the most powerful tanks in the world, but Europe is also equipped with high-end tanks such as the German Leopard 2 and the French Leclerc.
Another very powerful tank that has been seen on several recent occasions in operation is Israel's Merkava.
Tanks represent a crucial component of modern military power, and countries that possess the most advanced models often enjoy a significant strategic advantage on the battlefield.
We continue to invest in the development and maintenance of these machines because they are believed to be essential to maintaining national security.
In other cases it is the concept of "military deterrence" that pushes towards the development and production of tanks, as happened during the Cold War for the nuclear arsenal.
Most powerful tanks in the world United States Russia China Other countries United States It is not at all surprising to discover that the United States, the most powerful army in the world, is the country where there are the most tanks.
According to the 2024 military balance report, provided by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the United States has just over 45 thousand armored combat vehicles in operation.
Beyond these they have 2,640 main battle tanks and 12,800 vehicles in storage, of which 2,000 are main battle tanks.
Between reconnaissance vehicles, infantry fighting vehicles, personnel carriers, amphibious assault vehicles and armored commercial vehicles, the United States possesses over 60 thousand military vehicles.
Russia Russia is the second country in possession of tanks.
In total it is expected to have almost 24,000 vehicles, although according to Oryx – a Dutch open-source defense intelligence website – Russia appears to have lost almost 2,800 main battle tanks since invading Ukraine.
A figure which, when compared with last year's numbers (2,927 main battle tanks), marks a huge loss.
In fact, it is no coincidence that Russia has increased internal production, operating 24 hours a day for the construction of military vehicles.
This is a necessity given by the consumption of Soviet-era supplies.
Below is a table for the comparison of data between 2023 and 2024: category 2023 2024 percentage main battle tanks 5,000 4,000 -20% armored reconnaissance 1,000 100 -90% infantry vehicles 4,000 2,800 -30% personnel transport vehicles 6,000 2,300 -61, 7% In total, out of 16 thousand vehicles present in 2023, Russia should own around 9,200 in 2024 (-42.5%).
China China holds third place overall and first place globally in the number of main battle tanks in operation.
Furthermore, it does not have any vehicles in storage and this is because modernization is constant and only the older vehicles remain in stock.
If it is third in terms of the number of tanks, in terms of the number of armored vehicles, combat vehicles and wheeled personnel carriers it ranks immediately behind the States.
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read also Strongest and most powerful armies in the world 2024, where is Italy? The other countries The ranking of the other countries by number of armored vehicles (including tanks): United States with 60,937 Russia with 23,928 China with 20,254 Turkey with 11,702 Egypt with 10,389 India with 8,309 South Korea with 7,261 Saudi Arabia with 7,227 South Korea North with 6,560 Pakistan with 6,137 Greece with 4,190 Ukraine with 4,083 Algeria with 3,866 Vietnam with 3,779 Iran with 2,878