India vs United Kingdom Military Comparison
Side-by-side military strength: active personnel, defense budgets, air force aircraft, and naval assets.
India
1M active troops
$80B budget
VS
United Kingdom
200K active troops
$70B budget
4,614
Tanks
227
12,000
Armored Vehicles
5,015
4,275
Artillery
215
266
Rocket Systems
44
538
Fighter Jets
137
812
Helicopters
332
295
Warships
76
17
Submarines
11
Nuclear Arsenal
United Kingdom
LARGEST
225
WARHEADS
India
76.4% OF LARGEST
172
WARHEADS
United Kingdom holds
1.3×
the warheads of India
Warheads Over Time
Estimated total warhead inventories — Federation of American Scientists / SIPRI
Defense Budget vs GDP
Historical defense spending and how it compares to each country's GDP. The % of GDP view normalises for economic size so smaller economies aren't drowned out by absolute dollar figures.
Defense Budget Over Time ($B)
Defense Budget as % of GDP
Source: World Bank Open Data API (MS.MIL.XPND.CD)
Military Active Personnel
India
LARGEST
1.45M
TROOPS
United Kingdom
10.6% OF LARGEST
153.29K
TROOPS
India has 9.43× the active personnel of United Kingdom
Air Force Total Aircraft
India
LARGEST
2.18K
AIRCRAFT
United Kingdom
33.6% OF LARGEST
733
AIRCRAFT
India has 2.98× the aircraft of United Kingdom
Total Naval Assets
Land Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
India
|
United Kingdom
|
|---|---|---|
| Active Personnel | 1,445,000 | 153,290 |
| Reserve Personnel | 1,155,000 | 81,500 |
| Total Military Personnel | 2,610,550 | 234,790 |
| Defense Budget (USD) | $81,400,000,000 | $68,400,000,000 |
| Tanks | 4,614 | 227 |
| Armored Vehicles | 12,000 | 5,015 |
| Self-Propelled Artillery | 100 | 89 |
| Towed Artillery | 4,175 | 126 |
| Rocket Projectors | 266 | 44 |
Air Force — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
India
|
United Kingdom
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Aircraft | 2,182 | 733 |
| Fighters | 538 | 137 |
| Attack Aircraft | 172 | 143 |
| Transport Aircraft | 250 | 288 |
| Trainer Aircraft | 359 | 175 |
| Helicopters | 812 | 332 |
| Attack Helicopters | 68 | 50 |
Naval Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
India
|
United Kingdom
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Naval Assets | 295 | 76 |
| Aircraft Carriers | 2 | 2 |
| Destroyers | 12 | 6 |
| Frigates | 13 | 13 |
| Corvettes | 19 | 0 |
| Submarines | 17 | 11 |
| Patrol Vessels | 139 | 22 |
| Mine Warfare Vessels | 3 | 13 |
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