Military Power.net

Japanvs Saudi Arabia

On Global Firepower's 2026 index, Japan (#7) holds a clear lead over Saudi Arabia (#25).

  • Japan has submarines; Saudi Arabia has none.
  • Japan has destroyers; Saudi Arabia has none.
  • Japan has 4.9× as many naval vessels.
  1. People and moneyEven, 2–2
  2. Land forcesSaudi Arabia leads 4 of 5
  3. Air powerJapan leads 4 of 7
  4. Naval forcesJapan 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.

$62.2B
Military spending
$83.2B
252K
Active personnel
247K
56K
Reserves
0
25K
Paramilitary
150K

Spending is SIPRI's 2025 estimate in US dollars (Japan: 1.4% of GDP; Saudi Arabia: 6.5% of GDP).

Land forces

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

734
Tanks
1,085
54K
Armored vehicles
22K
193
Self-propelled artillery
380
480
Towed artillery
557
99
Rocket artillery
327

Air power

Fixed-wing and rotary aircraft across all branches.

1,429
Total aircraft
917
217
Fighters
283
47
Attack aircraft
81
583
Helicopters
264
118
Attack helicopters
34
10
Tankers
22
53
Transports
49

Naval forces

Hull counts, from carriers down to patrol boats.

158
Total fleet
32
0
Aircraft carriers
0
4
Helicopter carriers
0
23
Submarines
0
41
Destroyers
0
8
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: Japan and Saudi Arabia. Sources: Global Firepower 2026, SIPRI Military Expenditure 2025 (Apr 2026), SIPRI Yearbook 2026: World Nuclear Forces.