Iranvs Russia
On Global Firepower's 2026 index, Russia (#2) holds a solid edge over Iran (#16).
- Russia has nuclear weapons; Iran has none.
- Russia has aircraft carriers; Iran has none.
- Russia has destroyers; Iran has none.
Who leads in each area
- People and moneyRussia leads 4 of 4
- Land forcesRussia leads 5 of 5
- Air powerRussia leads 7 of 7
- Naval forcesRussia leads 6 of 7
- Nuclear weaponsRussia 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.
$7.4B
Military spending
$190B610K
Active personnel
1.32M350K
Reserves
2M220K
Paramilitary
250KSpending is SIPRI's 2025 estimate in US dollars (Iran: 2.1% of GDP; Russia: 7.5% of GDP).
Land forces
Armour and artillery: the weight an army can put on the ground.
2,675
Tanks
5,63076K
Armored vehicles
127K424
Self-propelled artillery
3,6031,803
Towed artillery
5,9201,550
Rocket artillery
2,486Air power
Fixed-wing and rotary aircraft across all branches.
551
Total aircraft
4,237188
Fighters
86121
Attack aircraft
698129
Helicopters
1,64313
Attack helicopters
5566
Tankers
1886
Transports
458Naval forces
Hull counts, from carriers down to patrol boats.
109
Total fleet
7470
Aircraft carriers
10
Helicopter carriers
025
Submarines
660
Destroyers
137
Frigates
123
Corvettes
79Nuclear weapons
Estimated warheads in military stockpiles, January 2026.
0
Warheads
4,4000
Deployed warheads
1,796Compare other countries
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Profiles: Iran and Russia. Sources: Global Firepower 2026, SIPRI Military Expenditure 2025 (Apr 2026), SIPRI Yearbook 2026: World Nuclear Forces.