Military Power.net

Saudi Arabiavs United Kingdom

On Global Firepower's 2026 index, the United Kingdom (#8) holds a clear lead over Saudi Arabia (#25).

  • The United Kingdom has nuclear weapons; Saudi Arabia has none.
  • The United Kingdom has aircraft carriers; Saudi Arabia has none.
  • The United Kingdom has submarines; Saudi Arabia has none.
  1. People and moneyEven, 2–2
  2. Land forcesSaudi Arabia leads 4 of 5
  3. Air powerSaudi Arabia leads 6 of 7
  4. Naval forcesUnited Kingdom leads 4 of 7
  5. Nuclear weaponsUnited Kingdom 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.

$83.2B
Military spending
$89.0B
247K
Active personnel
141K
0
Reserves
32K
150K
Paramilitary
0

Spending is SIPRI's 2025 estimate in US dollars (Saudi Arabia: 6.5% of GDP; United Kingdom: 2.4% of GDP).

Land forces

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

1,085
Tanks
288
22K
Armored vehicles
94K
380
Self-propelled artillery
14
557
Towed artillery
126
327
Rocket artillery
43

Air power

Fixed-wing and rotary aircraft across all branches.

917
Total aircraft
625
283
Fighters
103
81
Attack aircraft
38
264
Helicopters
262
34
Attack helicopters
50
22
Tankers
9
49
Transports
30

Naval forces

Hull counts, from carriers down to patrol boats.

32
Total fleet
116
0
Aircraft carriers
2
0
Helicopter carriers
0
0
Submarines
10
0
Destroyers
6
7
Frigates
7
9
Corvettes
0

Nuclear weapons

Estimated warheads in military stockpiles, January 2026.

0
Warheads
225
0
Deployed warheads
120

Compare other countries

Related matchups

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