Military Power.net

Italyvs Saudi Arabia

On Global Firepower's 2026 index, Italy (#10) holds a clear lead over Saudi Arabia (#25).

  • Italy has aircraft carriers; Saudi Arabia has none.
  • Italy has submarines; Saudi Arabia has none.
  • Italy has destroyers; Saudi Arabia has none.
  1. People and moneySaudi Arabia leads 3 of 4
  2. Land forcesSaudi Arabia leads 4 of 5
  3. Air powerSaudi Arabia leads 5 of 7
  4. Naval forcesItaly leads 5 of 7
  5. Nuclear weaponsEven, 0–0

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.

$48.1B
Military spending
$83.2B
166K
Active personnel
247K
18K
Reserves
0
105K
Paramilitary
150K

Spending is SIPRI's 2025 estimate in US dollars (Italy: 1.9% of GDP; Saudi Arabia: 6.5% of GDP).

Land forces

Armour and artillery: the weight an army can put on the ground.

203
Tanks
1,085
87K
Armored vehicles
22K
64
Self-propelled artillery
380
108
Towed artillery
557
21
Rocket artillery
327

Air power

Fixed-wing and rotary aircraft across all branches.

714
Total aircraft
917
88
Fighters
283
65
Attack aircraft
81
352
Helicopters
264
37
Attack helicopters
34
8
Tankers
22
31
Transports
49

Naval forces

Hull counts, from carriers down to patrol boats.

285
Total fleet
32
2
Aircraft carriers
0
0
Helicopter carriers
0
8
Submarines
0
3
Destroyers
0
14
Frigates
7
0
Corvettes
9

Nuclear weapons

Estimated warheads in military stockpiles, January 2026.

0
Warheads
0
0
Deployed warheads
0

Compare other countries

Related matchups

Profiles: Italy and Saudi Arabia. Sources: Global Firepower 2026, SIPRI Military Expenditure 2025 (Apr 2026), SIPRI Yearbook 2026: World Nuclear Forces.