Military Power.net

Russiavs Saudi Arabia

On Global Firepower's 2026 index, Russia (#2) holds a clear lead over Saudi Arabia (#25).

  • Russia has nuclear weapons; Saudi Arabia has none.
  • Russia has aircraft carriers; Saudi Arabia has none.
  • Russia has submarines; Saudi Arabia has none.

Who leads in each area

  1. People and moneyRussia leads 4 of 4
  2. Land forcesRussia leads 5 of 5
  3. Air powerRussia leads 6 of 7
  4. Naval forcesRussia leads 6 of 7
  5. 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.

$190B
Military spending
$83.2B
1.32M
Active personnel
247K
2M
Reserves
0
250K
Paramilitary
150K

Spending is SIPRI's 2025 estimate in US dollars (Russia: 7.5% of GDP; Saudi Arabia: 6.5% of GDP).

Land forces

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

5,630
Tanks
1,085
127K
Armored vehicles
22K
3,603
Self-propelled artillery
380
5,920
Towed artillery
557
2,486
Rocket artillery
327

Air power

Fixed-wing and rotary aircraft across all branches.

4,237
Total aircraft
917
861
Fighters
283
698
Attack aircraft
81
1,643
Helicopters
264
556
Attack helicopters
34
18
Tankers
22
458
Transports
49

Naval forces

Hull counts, from carriers down to patrol boats.

747
Total fleet
32
1
Aircraft carriers
0
0
Helicopter carriers
0
66
Submarines
0
13
Destroyers
0
12
Frigates
7
79
Corvettes
9

Nuclear weapons

Estimated warheads in military stockpiles, January 2026.

4,400
Warheads
0
1,796
Deployed warheads
0

Compare other countries

Related matchups

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