France vs Japan Military Comparison
Side-by-side military strength: active personnel, defense budgets, air force aircraft, and naval assets.
France
200K active troops
$60B budget
VS
Japan
200K active troops
$50B budget
406
Tanks
579
6,300
Armored Vehicles
3,137
121
Artillery
658
13
Rocket Systems
99
229
Fighter Jets
297
566
Helicopters
622
180
Warships
155
10
Submarines
22
Nuclear Arsenal
France
LARGEST
290
WARHEADS
Japan
NON-NUCLEAR
0
WARHEADS
Warheads Over Time
Estimated total warhead inventories — Federation of American Scientists / SIPRI
Defense Budget vs GDP
Historical defense spending and how it compares to each country's GDP. The % of GDP view normalises for economic size so smaller economies aren't drowned out by absolute dollar figures.
Defense Budget Over Time ($B)
Defense Budget as % of GDP
Source: World Bank Open Data API (MS.MIL.XPND.CD)
Military Active Personnel
Japan
LARGEST
247.15K
TROOPS
France
82.5% OF LARGEST
203.85K
TROOPS
Japan has 1.21× the active personnel of France
Air Force Total Aircraft
Japan
LARGEST
1.45K
AIRCRAFT
France
72.8% OF LARGEST
1.06K
AIRCRAFT
Japan has 1.37× the aircraft of France
Total Naval Assets
Land Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
France
|
Japan
|
|---|---|---|
| Active Personnel | 203,850 | 247,150 |
| Reserve Personnel | 35,000 | 56,000 |
| Total Military Personnel | 240,000 | 303,150 |
| Defense Budget (USD) | $55,000,000,000 | $49,100,000,000 |
| Tanks | 406 | 579 |
| Armored Vehicles | 6,300 | 3,137 |
| Self-Propelled Artillery | 109 | 166 |
| Towed Artillery | 12 | 492 |
| Rocket Projectors | 13 | 99 |
Air Force — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
France
|
Japan
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Aircraft | 1,055 | 1,449 |
| Fighters | 229 | 297 |
| Attack Aircraft | 246 | 287 |
| Transport Aircraft | 163 | 192 |
| Trainer Aircraft | 181 | 447 |
| Helicopters | 566 | 622 |
| Attack Helicopters | 69 | 119 |
Naval Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
France
|
Japan
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Naval Assets | 180 | 155 |
| Aircraft Carriers | 1 | 4 |
| Destroyers | 12 | 36 |
| Frigates | 11 | 10 |
| Corvettes | 0 | 6 |
| Submarines | 10 | 22 |
| Patrol Vessels | 19 | 6 |
| Mine Warfare Vessels | 18 | 22 |
See economy, trade, demographics, and more for this comparison.
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Data compiled from World Bank, IMF, Global Firepower, SIPRI, Numbeo, and Pew Research.
Last updated June 2026.
Sources & methodology