Military Power.net

Saudi Arabiavs Turkey

On Global Firepower's 2026 index, Turkey (#9) holds a clear lead over Saudi Arabia (#25).

  • Turkey has submarines; Saudi Arabia has none.
  • Turkey has 6× as many naval vessels.
  • Saudi Arabia spends 2.8× as much on its military.
  1. People and moneyTurkey leads 2 of 4
  2. Land forcesTurkey leads 4 of 5
  3. Air powerTurkey leads 4 of 7
  4. Naval forcesTurkey leads 4 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.

$83.2B
Military spending
$30.0B
247K
Active personnel
481K
0
Reserves
380K
150K
Paramilitary
150K

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

Land forces

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

1,085
Tanks
2,284
22K
Armored vehicles
98K
380
Self-propelled artillery
1,045
557
Towed artillery
635
327
Rocket artillery
237

Air power

Fixed-wing and rotary aircraft across all branches.

917
Total aircraft
1,101
283
Fighters
201
81
Attack aircraft
0
264
Helicopters
509
34
Attack helicopters
111
22
Tankers
7
49
Transports
84

Naval forces

Hull counts, from carriers down to patrol boats.

32
Total fleet
192
0
Aircraft carriers
0
0
Helicopter carriers
1
0
Submarines
14
0
Destroyers
0
7
Frigates
17
9
Corvettes
9

Nuclear weapons

Estimated warheads in military stockpiles, January 2026.

0
Warheads
0
0
Deployed warheads
0

Compare other countries

Related matchups

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