venues, such as seen in the Space race involving the United States, the Soviet Union, and more recently, China. Modern war also saw the improvement of armored tank technology. While tanks were present in the First World War, and the Second World War, armored warfare technology came to a head with the start of the Cold War. Many of the technologies commonly seen on main battle tanks today, such as composite armor, high caliber cannons, and advanced targeting systems, would be developed during this time. A distinctive feature since 1945 is the absence of wars between major powers—indeed the near absence of any traditional wars between established countries. The major exceptions were the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, the Iran–Iraq War 1980–1988, and the Gulf War of 1990–91. Instead actual fighting has largely been a matter of civil wars and insurgencies. The most recent example of a war between two nation states would be the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. See also War Studies Ancient Greek warfare Military science List of military writers Maritime history Military globalization Naval history Roman warfare Society for Military History Military history of ancient Rome Military history of Africa Military history of Europe Military history of Oceania Military history of North America Military history of South America Military history by country Journal of Military History, scholarly journal War in History, scholarly journal War & Society, scholarly journal History of physical training and fitness Notes and references Further reading Archer, I. John R. Ferris, Holger H. Herwig, and Timothy H. E. Travers. World History of Warfare (2nd ed. 2008) 638 pp Black, Jeremy. Warfare in the Western World, 1775–1882 (2001) 240 pp. Black, Jeremy. Warfare in the Western World, 1882–1975 (2002), 256 pp. Brownstone, David, and Irene M. Franck. Timelines of War: A Chronology of Warfare from 100,000 BC to the Present (1994) Chambers, John Whiteclay, ed. The Oxford Companion to American Military History (2000) online Cowley, Robert, and Geoffrey Parker, eds. The Reader's Companion to Military History (2001) excellent coverage by scholars. Complete text online free of 1996 edition Dear, I. C. B., and M. R. D. Foot, eds. Oxford Companion to World War II (2005; 2nd ed. 2010) online Doughty, Robert, Ira D. Gruber, Roy K. Flint, and Mark Grimsley. Warfare In The Western World (2 vol 1996), comprehensive textbook; online vol 1 to 1871 Dupuy, R. Ernest and Trevor N. Dupuy. The Encyclopedia of