Iran vs Russia Military Comparison
Side-by-side military strength: active personnel, defense budgets, air force aircraft, and naval assets.
Iran
600K active troops
$20B budget
VS
Russia
900K active troops
$200B budget
1,650
Tanks
12,420
2,500
Armored Vehicles
30,122
2,322
Artillery
14,145
1,900
Rocket Systems
3,391
196
Fighter Jets
789
152
Helicopters
1,543
398
Warships
605
19
Submarines
70
Nuclear Arsenal
Russia
LARGEST
5,580
WARHEADS
Iran
NON-NUCLEAR
0
WARHEADS
Warheads Over Time
Estimated total warhead inventories — Federation of American Scientists / SIPRI
Defense Budget vs GDP
Historical defense spending and how it compares to each country's GDP. The % of GDP view normalises for economic size so smaller economies aren't drowned out by absolute dollar figures.
Defense Budget Over Time ($B)
Defense Budget as % of GDP
Source: World Bank Open Data API (MS.MIL.XPND.CD)
Military Active Personnel
Russia
LARGEST
900K
TROOPS
Iran
63.9% OF LARGEST
575K
TROOPS
Russia has 1.57× the active personnel of Iran
Air Force Total Aircraft
Russia
LARGEST
4.17K
AIRCRAFT
Iran
13.2% OF LARGEST
551
AIRCRAFT
Russia has 7.57× the aircraft of Iran
Total Naval Assets
Land Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Iran
|
Russia
|
|---|---|---|
| Active Personnel | 575,000 | 900,000 |
| Reserve Personnel | 350,000 | 2,000,000 |
| Total Military Personnel | 925,000 | 3,350,000 |
| Defense Budget (USD) | $19,600,000,000 | $154,000,000,000 |
| Tanks | 1,650 | 12,420 |
| Armored Vehicles | 2,500 | 30,122 |
| Self-Propelled Artillery | 292 | 6,574 |
| Towed Artillery | 2,030 | 7,571 |
| Rocket Projectors | 1,900 | 3,391 |
Air Force — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Iran
|
Russia
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Aircraft | 551 | 4,173 |
| Fighters | 196 | 789 |
| Attack Aircraft | 0 | 1,391 |
| Transport Aircraft | 91 | 445 |
| Trainer Aircraft | 112 | 496 |
| Helicopters | 152 | 1,543 |
| Attack Helicopters | 12 | 544 |
Naval Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Iran
|
Russia
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Naval Assets | 398 | 605 |
| Aircraft Carriers | 0 | 1 |
| Destroyers | 0 | 15 |
| Frigates | 7 | 11 |
| Corvettes | 3 | 86 |
| Submarines | 19 | 70 |
| Patrol Vessels | 230 | 65 |
| Mine Warfare Vessels | 5 | 47 |
See economy, trade, demographics, and more for this comparison.
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Data compiled from World Bank, IMF, Global Firepower, SIPRI, Numbeo, and Pew Research.
Last updated June 2026.
Sources & methodology