Best Special Forces in the World Ranked

[DarkRange55]

Just a fun list I compiled.





Final Top-30 Special Ops / Covert & CT Units (2025)

1. CIA — Special Activities Center (SAC / ex-SAD) — Tier-1 (Covert / Intelligence)
   Deniable U.S. paramilitary arm that runs clandestine paramilitary operations, sabotage, and politically sensitive missions worldwide.

2. (tie) Delta Force (1st SFOD-D) — Tier-1 (Assault)
JSOC's premier Army direct-action and hostage-rescue unit; small, lethal teams that execute the highest-risk raids.
2. (tie) DEVGRU / SEAL Team 6 — Tier-1 (Assault / Maritime)
Navy Tier-1 maritime assault unit specializing in ship boarding, HVT raids, and close JSOC integration.
2. (tie) UK SAS (22 SAS) — Tier-1 (Assault)
The archetypal special-forces regiment; masters of long-range reconnaissance, direct action, and counter-terrorism with global pedigree.

1. UK SBS (Special Boat Service) — Tier-1 (Assault / Maritime)
   Royal Navy maritime Tier-1 unit focused on amphibious insertion, littoral raids, and ship/port interdiction.
2. Mossad — operational arm (Kidon, etc.) — Tier-1 (Covert / Intelligence)
   Israel's external covert-action arm conducting clandestine HUMINT, sabotage, and targeted operations overseas under national political authority.
3. Sayeret Matkal (IDF) — Tier-1 (Assault / Recon)
   Israel's elite deep-recon and direct-action unit tasked with strategic raids and hostage rescue behind enemy lines.
4. FBI — Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) — Police CT / National-level
   U.S. national hostage-rescue and counter-terror team with Delta-level CQB tradecraft; focused on domestic federal crises and high-risk interventions.
5. ISA — Intelligence Support Activity ("The Activity") — Tier-1 (Covert / Intel-Enabler)
   Ultra-secret JSOC unit that collects clandestine HUMINT/SIGINT and develops targets so assault teams can strike precisely.
6. FSB Alpha Group / Vympel — Tier-1 (Assault / Domestic CT)
   Russia's foremost domestic CT and hostage-rescue formations; experienced in brutal urban assaults and politically sensitive operations.
7. JTF-2 (Canada) — Tier-1 (Assault)
   Canada's discreet Tier-1 unit for direct action, CT, and special reconnaissance; highly interoperable with allies.
8. SASR (Australia) — Tier-1 (Assault / Expeditionary)
   Australia's long-range recon and direct-action regiment, combat-proven and coalition capable.
9. JW GROM (Poland) — Tier-1 (Assault / NATO)
   Poland's elite SOF trained to NATO/Tier-1 standards and combat-tested in coalition operations.
10. 160th SOAR ("Night Stalkers") — Support / Enabler (Aviation Tier-1)
    Special operations aviation regiment providing low-level, no-light infiltration/extraction, fast-rope, and gunship support for Tier-1 raids.
11. U.S. Army Special Forces ("Green Berets") — Tier-2 (SOF / Strategic)
    Specialists in unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, and partner-force development—strategic force multipliers.
12. GIGN (France) — Police CT / National-level
    France's gendarmerie CT unit, world-renowned for hostage rescue and complex crisis response.
13. GSG-9 (Germany) — Police CT / National-level
    Germany's federal counter-terror and hostage-rescue unit; experts in aircraft interventions and precision urban ops.
14. MARSOC — Marine Raiders — Tier-2 (SOF / Expeditionary)
    USMC special operations command conducting expeditionary direct action, special reconnaissance, and FID under USSOCOM.
15. KSK (Germany) — Tier-2 (SOF / Expeditionary)
    German Army SOF for expeditionary CT, recon, and NATO tasking (recently restructured but highly capable).
16. Commando Hubert (Commandos Marine) — Tier-2 (Maritime SOF)
    French Navy combat-divers specializing in underwater infiltration, ship boarding, demolition, and maritime CT.
17. GIS (Gruppo di Intervento Speciale, Carabinieri) — Police CT / National-level
    Italy's premier Carabinieri CT and hostage-rescue unit; a police–military hybrid for domestic crises and protective missions.
18. NSG "Black Cats" (India) — Police CT / National-level
    India's federal CT force for airport/hijack response, urban hostage rescues, and rapid national intervention.
19. 707th Special Mission Group (South Korea) — Tier-1 (Assault / National)
    ROK's elite CT and special-missions unit focused on peninsula defense and rapid direct action.
20. SSG (Special Services Group, Pakistan) — Tier-2 (SOF / Regional)
    Pakistan's principal SOF with strength in mountain warfare, counter-insurgency, and regional direct action.
21. FSK (Forsvarets Spesialkommando) — Tier-1 / Tier-2 hybrid (SOF)
    Norway's elite SOF for Arctic operations, direct action, and NATO special operations.
22. JGSDF Special Forces Group (SFGp) — Tier-1 / National CT
    Japan's ground special unit focused on counter-terrorism, reconnaissance, and counter-WMD readiness.
23. MJK (Marine Jegerkommando) — Tier-2 (Naval SOF)
    Norwegian naval commandos trained for maritime raids, ship boarding, and Arctic littoral ops.
24. BOPE (Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais) — Police CT / Urban Tactical
    Rio's elite urban tactical battalion, experienced in dense-city combat, slum operations, and high-intensity CQB.
25. Shayetet 13 (IDF Navy) — Tier-1 (Maritime Assault)
    Israel's naval commandos for VBSS, maritime sabotage, coastal raids and seaside direct action.
26. 24th Special Tactics Squadron / USAF Special Tactics — Support / Enabler
    Air-ground integration specialists (combat controllers, pararescue) who enable CSAR, runway seizure, and precision strike for

 

[Forever Sleep]

Best at what? Killing? Preventing killing? Spying? Corruption?

I wonder if the best clandestine units are ones we haven't even heard of.

 

[darksouls]

the German Bundeswehr conducts many perverse animal experiments and these cruelties are financed by German taxpayers

 

[Pluto]

 

[58Alice85]

Everytime i see these kinds of lists and articles i wonder how much of this is American propaganda.
They also always claim the Americans have some super secret alien tech stashed away somewhere (but it may never be used).

 

[WhatCouldHaveBeen32]

Everytime i see these kinds of lists and articles i wonder how much of this is American propaganda.
They also always claim the Americans have some super secret alien tech stashed away somewhere (but it may never be used).

To be honest most countries have this alien tech vodoo tech stash away propaganda.

1K17 Szhatie - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[DarkRange55]

Best at what? Killing? Preventing killing? Spying? Corruption?

I wonder if the best clandestine units are ones we haven't even heard of.

Excellent question! That was my question, too!

There's no truly "undisputed" #1 because missions, secrecy, and laws differ. If you force a crown by strategic impact + selectivity + mission authority, the CIA's Special Activities Center (SAC, ex-SAD) is often the "top of the pyramid" (it recruits heavily from Tier-1 units and can run covert presidentially authorized ops). For pure military units, the perennial #1/2 are Delta Force (1st SFOD-D) and DEVGRU (SEAL Team 6). Often tied along with British SAS.

Other units like FBI HRT is specialized national law enforcement for specific tasks.

Everytime i see these kinds of lists and articles i wonder how much of this is American propaganda.
They also always claim the Americans have some super secret alien tech stashed away somewhere (but it may never be used).

Even today the Chinese still don't know how the Americans made some specific types of alloys for their jet engine turbines. That material cannot be reverse engineered. So even today they're still like 20 to 15 years behind in terms of material science. They were implying that maybe if they can't reverse engineer it that they got inspiration from somewhere else. But it's a circumstantial hypothesis. You have to assume they have contact with aliens and all this makes sense. Or it could just be the case the Americans threw a shit ton of money at this and they tried all sorts pf combinations and they came up with one. So even today in terms of rocket science, on that part the Americans are still very, very ahead of the world. So maybe that part is kind of consistent with what that guy said. But at least 30 years, hasn't changed a bit.

American troops are all fat and lazy and effeminate, they're shit, they can't shot for shit, can't aim. The very cream of the crop AAA+ special forces (which come from cornfed middle America and believe in the American dream) however is what our intelligence agencies and military rely on for assignations and spearheading operations. They really overly rely on them was my point.

And things like the reserves or weekend warriors or the draft or whatever are things our government uses to pad their numbers to basically make the military look bigger as an illusion. Pad like inflate their numbers on papers.



But I think that is also part of their power…