Military News Today takes a look at the ‘Top Ten Best Special Forces in the World’. The level of training of any of these Elite soldiers is on another level to conventional soldiers, not only equipped with state-of-the-art military hardware, these soldiers also show a strong mentality, determination and bravery to perform the tasks and specialised missions required of them. Special Forces are made up of each respective countries, the toughest, finest soldiers. But who owns the title of Worlds Best Special Forces?

A recent world ranking based on a consensus method by three sources The Independent, The Times of India & Forces.Net analysed the the capabilities. The Independent ranked the capabilities of these Special Forces out of a score of 8, whilst the other two publications discussed these units without ranking them.

In the case of The Independent, where each unit ranked and assigned scores to the country, depending on where its special forces group(s) ranked. For instance, if a country ranked first, it received a score of 1 (8/8); if it was third, it received 0.75 (6/8).

For the remaining two sources, they counted the number of times a military special forces group was mentioned on these websites and assigned a score of 1 for each time they received a mention. Finally all scores were aggregated to get an overall score. 

Countries with the best military forces in the world are ranked in ascending order of their overall scores. In cases where two or more countries had the same score, the analysis outranked one over the other on the battle-hardness of their special forces.

Top 10 Countries with the Best Military Special Forces in the World:

10. MARCOS

Country: India

Score: 1.00

India finds itself among countries with the best military special forces in the world, with three special forces that are controlled by the military. These include the Army’s Paratrooper Special Forces, Navy’s MARCOS, and the Air Force’s Garud Commando Force.

The Marine Commandos, abbreviated as MARCOS, are the most widely acclaimed special forces group in the country. According to The Times of India, it takes about three years of rigorous training before soldiers could become a part of this special unit. MARCOS is capable of operations at sea, land, and air.

9. Kommando Spezialkräfte

Country: Germany

Score: 1.00

Kommando Spezialkräfte (KSK) is the elite special force of the Bundeswehr — the German military. It is a large brigade-level unit, that is tasked with performing a wide range of operations as required related to counter-terrorism, commando warfare, and search and rescue. However, like all other Germany units, KSK’s deployments have to be authorised by the German parliament.

The unit carried out several successful operations during the war against terrorism in Afghanistan, including a raid on an Al Qaeda safe-house in 2006. Germany also has another top special services group in GSG 9 der Bundespolizei, which is the special forces unit of the German Police, and plays an active role in combating terrorism and organised crime. Primarily due to these two agencies, Germany finds itself in the list of countries with the best military special forces in the world.

8. Joint Task Force 2 (JST2)

Country: Canada

Score: 2.00

The Joint Task Force 2 (JST2) is an elite, tier 1 special forces group of the Canadian military, and serves under the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command. The unit is tasked with working on counter-terrorism missions, both at home and abroad, and has come to be recognised as a world-class special force. The JST2 is known to collaborate closely with the Delta Force in the US and Britain’s Special Air Service (SAS) in missions of common interest.

7. GROM Military Unit

Country: Poland

Score: 2.00

Poland’s GROM Military Unit is one of the best military special forces in the world. It is a top-tier special forces unit that can be compared with the best of the best. The group was formed in 1990 as part of a mission to help Soviet Jews enter Israel safely amid resistance from Hezbollah. These days, GROM is a highly-capable anti-terrorism unit, which has successfully undertaken several missions at home and overseas. One of its most notable operations was the rescue of hostages after terrorists took control of a government building in Paktia, Afghanistan in 2012. 

6. Special Services Group (SSG)

Country: Pakistan

Score: 2.00

Pakistan’s Special Services Group, or SSG, is one of the best military special forces units in the world. The unit is also known as the Black Storks, due to the unique headgear worn by its commandos. The Independent and Force.net have both highlighted that SSG’s training involves a 36-mile march in 12 hours, as well as a 5-mile sprint in just 20 minutes, while only 5% of those who enter training pass out upon completion of the course.

The SSG is a battle-hardened force that is undertaken some of the most complex missions during Pakistan’s war against militant groups in the country’s tribal north and come out successful. 

5. National Gendarmerie Intervention Group (GIGN)

Score: 2.25

Country: France

The French National Gendarmerie Intervention Group, or GIGN – one of the best counter-terrorism special forces in the world. It is also tasked with the protection of French VIPs and important national sites. The GIGN specialises in hostage situations, and has freed up to 600 hostages since its formation in 1973 according to The Independent.

4. Sayeret Matkal

Country: Israel

Score: 2.63

Next up on our list of the countries with the best military special forces in the world is Israel, whose Sayeret Matkal is considered to be among the most elite special forces units going around. Applicants who wish to join the Israeli special forces go through rigorous training, and only the best make it through. The group’s primary responsibility is intelligence gathering and it often operates deep inside enemy lines.

Another prominent special forces group in Israel is Shayetet 13, which is a division of the country’s navy and oversees surface and subsurface combat as well as raids. Despite being in operation since 1948, it was not known to the public until the 1960s.

3. Alpha Group

Country: Russia

Score: 3.38

Russia’s Alpha Group is one of the best elite military units in the world that specialises in counter-terrorism. Founded in 1974 by the KGB, it currently operates under the FSB. Another world-class special forces unit in the country is Spetsnaz GRU, which works under Russia’s foreign military intelligence agency, GRU.

Russian special forces have been noted for undertaking several missions on foreign soil, including in Czechoslovakia, Syria, Georgia, and Ukraine.

2. Special Air Service (SAS)

Country: United Kingdom

Score: 4.63

The United Kingdom boasts one of the top special forces military units in the world – the British Special Air Service (SAS) which had a vital role to play in the war in Iraq. An American general, Stanley McChrystal, has stated that the US could not have achieved what it set out for in Iraq without the assistance of SAS.

Another prominent special forces unit in the country is Special Boat Service, which is the equivalent of the US Navy SEALs. Its selection process is highly enduring and involves rigorous tests like combat survival training, intense interrogation, and jungle training.

1. Tier-1 Special Mission Units

Country: United States

Score: 6.00

The United States has the best military special forces in the world. The country has several secretive special-ops units to which it gives its most critical operations.

According to a report, there are over 70,000 troops that are part of special operation forces in the United States. The four tier-1 special mission units of the US are The Army’s Delta force, which are responsible for a range of missions including counter-terrorism, eliminating high-value targets, hostage rescue, raids, sabotage, and special reconnaissance; The Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU or Seal Team 6), that performs similar activities as the Delta Force but on the naval side; The Air Force’s 24th Special Tactics Squadron, which is composed of pararescue-men, combat controllers, special operations weather technicians, and tactical commandos.

Last but not the least is the Army’s Intelligence Support Activity, that recruits from across services and tasks them with collecting information about decisions of policymakers. Most of the activities of this unit are classified.

The US Navy SEALs (other teams) and S Green Berets are other prominent special military forces groups in the United States.