Italy vs United Kingdom Military Comparison
Side-by-side military strength: active personnel, defense budgets, air force aircraft, and naval assets.
Italy
200K active troops
$30B budget
VS
United Kingdom
200K active troops
$70B budget
200
Tanks
227
3,500
Armored Vehicles
5,015
159
Artillery
215
21
Rocket Systems
44
96
Fighter Jets
137
354
Helicopters
332
143
Warships
76
8
Submarines
11
Nuclear Arsenal
United Kingdom
LARGEST
225
WARHEADS
Italy
NON-NUCLEAR
0
WARHEADS
Warheads Over Time
Estimated total warhead inventories — Federation of American Scientists / SIPRI
Defense Budget vs GDP
Historical defense spending and how it compares to each country's GDP. The % of GDP view normalises for economic size so smaller economies aren't drowned out by absolute dollar figures.
Defense Budget Over Time ($B)
Defense Budget as % of GDP
Source: World Bank Open Data API (MS.MIL.XPND.CD)
Military Active Personnel
Italy
LARGEST
170K
TROOPS
United Kingdom
90.2% OF LARGEST
153.29K
TROOPS
Italy has 1.11× the active personnel of United Kingdom
Air Force Total Aircraft
Italy
LARGEST
862
AIRCRAFT
United Kingdom
85.0% OF LARGEST
733
AIRCRAFT
Italy has 1.18× the aircraft of United Kingdom
Total Naval Assets
Land Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Italy
|
United Kingdom
|
|---|---|---|
| Active Personnel | 170,000 | 153,290 |
| Reserve Personnel | 18,300 | 81,500 |
| Total Military Personnel | 188,300 | 234,790 |
| Defense Budget (USD) | $29,800,000,000 | $68,400,000,000 |
| Tanks | 200 | 227 |
| Armored Vehicles | 3,500 | 5,015 |
| Self-Propelled Artillery | 89 | 89 |
| Towed Artillery | 70 | 126 |
| Rocket Projectors | 21 | 44 |
Air Force — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Italy
|
United Kingdom
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Aircraft | 862 | 733 |
| Fighters | 96 | 137 |
| Attack Aircraft | 58 | 143 |
| Transport Aircraft | 87 | 288 |
| Trainer Aircraft | 186 | 175 |
| Helicopters | 354 | 332 |
| Attack Helicopters | 59 | 50 |
Naval Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Italy
|
United Kingdom
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Naval Assets | 143 | 76 |
| Aircraft Carriers | 2 | 2 |
| Destroyers | 4 | 6 |
| Frigates | 10 | 13 |
| Corvettes | 0 | 0 |
| Submarines | 8 | 11 |
| Patrol Vessels | 20 | 22 |
| Mine Warfare Vessels | 10 | 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