Francevs United States
On Global Firepower's 2026 index, the United States (#1) holds a narrow edge over France (#6).
- The United States spends 14× as much on its military.
- The United States fields 13× as many total aircraft.
- The United States holds 13× as many nuclear warheads.
Who leads in each area
- People and moneyUnited States leads 3 of 4
- Land forcesUnited States leads 5 of 5
- Air powerUnited States leads 7 of 7
- Naval forcesUnited States leads 6 of 7
- Nuclear weaponsUnited States leads 2 of 2
Leads count raw numbers in each category. Larger is not always stronger: a modern fleet can beat a bigger, older one.
People and money
Who can be put in uniform, and how much is spent keeping them there.
$68.0B
Military spending
$954B264K
Active personnel
1.33M43K
Reserves
800K150K
Paramilitary
0Spending is SIPRI's 2025 estimate in US dollars (France: 2% of GDP; United States: 3.1% of GDP).
Land forces
Armour and artillery: the weight an army can put on the ground.
427
Tanks
4,666111K
Armored vehicles
410K74
Self-propelled artillery
1,5210
Towed artillery
1,8789
Rocket artillery
1,731Air power
Fixed-wing and rotary aircraft across all branches.
974
Total aircraft
13,032223
Fighters
1,7910
Attack aircraft
926452
Helicopters
5,91367
Attack helicopters
1,02415
Tankers
610118
Transports
917Naval forces
Hull counts, from carriers down to patrol boats.
166
Total fleet
4651
Aircraft carriers
113
Helicopter carriers
99
Submarines
6611
Destroyers
835
Frigates
00
Corvettes
27Nuclear weapons
Estimated warheads in military stockpiles, January 2026.
290
Warheads
3,700280
Deployed warheads
1,770Compare other countries
Related matchups
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Profiles: France and United States. Sources: Global Firepower 2026, SIPRI Military Expenditure 2025 (Apr 2026), SIPRI Yearbook 2026: World Nuclear Forces.