United Statesvs India
On Global Firepower's 2026 index, the United States (#1) holds a narrow edge over India (#4).
- The United States holds 19× as many nuclear warheads.
- The United States spends 10× as much on its military.
- The United States fields 6.4× as many destroyers.
Who leads in each area
- People and moneyIndia leads 3 of 4
- Land forcesUnited States leads 4 of 5
- Air powerUnited States leads 7 of 7
- Naval forcesUnited States leads 6 of 7
- Nuclear weaponsUnited States 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.
$954B
Military spending
$92.1B1.33M
Active personnel
1.43M800K
Reserves
1M0
Paramilitary
2.53MSpending is SIPRI's 2025 estimate in US dollars (United States: 3.1% of GDP; India: 2.3% of GDP).
Land forces
Armour and artillery: the weight an army can put on the ground.
4,666
Tanks
3,913410K
Armored vehicles
164K1,521
Self-propelled artillery
1001,878
Towed artillery
5,6401,731
Rocket artillery
300Air power
Fixed-wing and rotary aircraft across all branches.
13,032
Total aircraft
2,1831,791
Fighters
476926
Attack aircraft
1245,913
Helicopters
5941,024
Attack helicopters
79610
Tankers
6917
Transports
277Naval forces
Hull counts, from carriers down to patrol boats.
465
Total fleet
34311
Aircraft carriers
29
Helicopter carriers
066
Submarines
1883
Destroyers
130
Frigates
1827
Corvettes
21Nuclear weapons
Estimated warheads in military stockpiles, January 2026.
3,700
Warheads
1901,770
Deployed warheads
12Compare other countries
Related matchups
- United StatesvsChina
- IndiavsPakistan
- ChinavsIndia
- United StatesvsRussia
- United StatesvsIran
- United StatesvsNorth Korea
- IndiavsRussia
- BrazilvsIndia
Profiles: United States and India. Sources: Global Firepower 2026, SIPRI Military Expenditure 2025 (Apr 2026), SIPRI Yearbook 2026: World Nuclear Forces.