Afghanistan vs Russia Military Comparison
Side-by-side military strength: active personnel, defense budgets, air force aircraft, and naval assets.
Afghanistan
200K active troops
$3B budget
VS
Russia
900K active troops
$200B budget
150
Tanks
12,420
2,000
Armored Vehicles
30,122
235
Artillery
14,145
50
Rocket Systems
3,391
0
Fighter Jets
789
107
Helicopters
1,543
0
Warships
605
0
Submarines
70
Nuclear Arsenal
Russia
LARGEST
5,580
WARHEADS
Afghanistan
NON-NUCLEAR
0
WARHEADS
Warheads Over Time
Estimated total warhead inventories — Federation of American Scientists / SIPRI
Defense Budget vs GDP
Historical defense spending and how it compares to each country's GDP. The % of GDP view normalises for economic size so smaller economies aren't drowned out by absolute dollar figures.
Defense Budget Over Time ($B)
Defense Budget as % of GDP
Source: World Bank Open Data API (MS.MIL.XPND.CD)
Military Active Personnel
Russia
LARGEST
900K
TROOPS
Afghanistan
20.0% OF LARGEST
180K
TROOPS
Russia has 5.00× the active personnel of Afghanistan
Air Force Total Aircraft
Russia
LARGEST
4.17K
AIRCRAFT
Afghanistan
4.0% OF LARGEST
167
AIRCRAFT
Russia has 24.99× the aircraft of Afghanistan
Total Naval Assets
Land Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Afghanistan
|
Russia
|
|---|---|---|
| Active Personnel | 180,000 | 900,000 |
| Reserve Personnel | 0 | 2,000,000 |
| Total Military Personnel | 180,000 | 3,350,000 |
| Defense Budget (USD) | $2,800,000,000 | $154,000,000,000 |
| Tanks | 150 | 12,420 |
| Armored Vehicles | 2,000 | 30,122 |
| Self-Propelled Artillery | 85 | 6,574 |
| Towed Artillery | 150 | 7,571 |
| Rocket Projectors | 50 | 3,391 |
Air Force — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Afghanistan
|
Russia
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Aircraft | 167 | 4,173 |
| Fighters | 0 | 789 |
| Attack Aircraft | 0 | 1,391 |
| Transport Aircraft | 40 | 445 |
| Trainer Aircraft | 20 | 496 |
| Helicopters | 107 | 1,543 |
| Attack Helicopters | 0 | 544 |
Naval Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Afghanistan
|
Russia
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Naval Assets | 0 | 605 |
| Aircraft Carriers | 0 | 1 |
| Destroyers | 0 | 15 |
| Frigates | 0 | 11 |
| Corvettes | 0 | 86 |
| Submarines | 0 | 70 |
| Patrol Vessels | 0 | 65 |
| Mine Warfare Vessels | 0 | 47 |
See economy, trade, demographics, and more for this comparison.
View full Afghanistan vs Russia comparison →
Data compiled from World Bank, IMF, Global Firepower, SIPRI, Numbeo, and Pew Research.
Last updated June 2026.
Sources & methodology