Rihanna has joked she had some experience with weapons before starring in Battleship - even though they weren''t nearly as impressive.

The stunning singer plays tough Petty Officer (GM2) Cora Raikes in the Peter Berg-directed sci-fi action film. Rihanna''s character is a weaponry expert and she says everything in the film is connected to her life.

"Yes, when I was 11 years old I joined cadets and right away we started working with weapons. But they were bigger weapons in the film!" she laughed in an interview with the UK version of OK! magazine.

Rihanna would consider entering the military. The 24-year-old can imagine herself as a soldier if she wasn''t famous for being a performer.

"If I had to, I definitely would," she said. "I have so much respect for soldiers. They dedicate their lives to saving others, and a lot of the time they don''t even get recognised for it, even when they come back.

"It takes a certain character with a certain discipline to be a soldier."