Australia vs Japan Military Comparison
Side-by-side military strength: active personnel, defense budgets, air force aircraft, and naval assets.
Australia
60K active troops
$30B budget
VS
Japan
200K active troops
$50B budget
59
Tanks
579
1,426
Armored Vehicles
3,137
129
Artillery
658
6
Rocket Systems
99
85
Fighter Jets
297
141
Helicopters
622
47
Warships
155
6
Submarines
22
Nuclear Arsenal
Australia
NON-NUCLEAR
0
WARHEADS
Japan
NON-NUCLEAR
0
WARHEADS
Estimated total warhead inventories — Federation of American Scientists / SIPRI
Defense Budget vs GDP
Historical defense spending and how it compares to each country's GDP. The % of GDP view normalises for economic size so smaller economies aren't drowned out by absolute dollar figures.
Defense Budget Over Time ($B)
Defense Budget as % of GDP
Source: World Bank Open Data API (MS.MIL.XPND.CD)
Military Active Personnel
Japan
LARGEST
247.15K
TROOPS
Australia
23.9% OF LARGEST
59K
TROOPS
Japan has 4.19× the active personnel of Australia
Air Force Total Aircraft
Japan
LARGEST
1.45K
AIRCRAFT
Australia
32.1% OF LARGEST
465
AIRCRAFT
Japan has 3.12× the aircraft of Australia
Total Naval Assets
Land Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Australia
|
Japan
|
|---|---|---|
| Active Personnel | 59,000 | 247,150 |
| Reserve Personnel | 28,850 | 56,000 |
| Total Military Personnel | 88,450 | 303,150 |
| Defense Budget (USD) | $31,800,000,000 | $49,100,000,000 |
| Tanks | 59 | 579 |
| Armored Vehicles | 1,426 | 3,137 |
| Self-Propelled Artillery | 54 | 166 |
| Towed Artillery | 75 | 492 |
| Rocket Projectors | 6 | 99 |
Air Force — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Australia
|
Japan
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Aircraft | 465 | 1,449 |
| Fighters | 85 | 297 |
| Attack Aircraft | 24 | 287 |
| Transport Aircraft | 47 | 192 |
| Trainer Aircraft | 168 | 447 |
| Helicopters | 141 | 622 |
| Attack Helicopters | 22 | 119 |
Naval Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Australia
|
Japan
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Naval Assets | 47 | 155 |
| Aircraft Carriers | 2 | 4 |
| Destroyers | 3 | 36 |
| Frigates | 8 | 10 |
| Corvettes | 0 | 6 |
| Submarines | 6 | 22 |
| Patrol Vessels | 13 | 6 |
| Mine Warfare Vessels | 6 | 22 |
See economy, trade, demographics, and more for this comparison.
View full Australia vs Japan comparison →
Data compiled from World Bank, IMF, Global Firepower, SIPRI, Numbeo, and Pew Research.
Last updated June 2026.
Sources & methodology