India vs Iran Military Comparison
Side-by-side military strength: active personnel, defense budgets, air force aircraft, and naval assets.
India
1M active troops
$80B budget
VS
Iran
600K active troops
$20B budget
4,614
Tanks
1,650
12,000
Armored Vehicles
2,500
4,275
Artillery
2,322
266
Rocket Systems
1,900
538
Fighter Jets
196
812
Helicopters
152
295
Warships
398
17
Submarines
19
Nuclear Arsenal
India
LARGEST
172
WARHEADS
Iran
NON-NUCLEAR
0
WARHEADS
Warheads Over Time
Estimated total warhead inventories — Federation of American Scientists / SIPRI
Defense Budget vs GDP
Historical defense spending and how it compares to each country's GDP. The % of GDP view normalises for economic size so smaller economies aren't drowned out by absolute dollar figures.
Defense Budget Over Time ($B)
Defense Budget as % of GDP
Source: World Bank Open Data API (MS.MIL.XPND.CD)
Military Active Personnel
India
LARGEST
1.45M
TROOPS
Iran
39.8% OF LARGEST
575K
TROOPS
India has 2.51× the active personnel of Iran
Air Force Total Aircraft
India
LARGEST
2.18K
AIRCRAFT
Iran
25.3% OF LARGEST
551
AIRCRAFT
India has 3.96× the aircraft of Iran
Total Naval Assets
Land Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
India
|
Iran
|
|---|---|---|
| Active Personnel | 1,445,000 | 575,000 |
| Reserve Personnel | 1,155,000 | 350,000 |
| Total Military Personnel | 2,610,550 | 925,000 |
| Defense Budget (USD) | $81,400,000,000 | $19,600,000,000 |
| Tanks | 4,614 | 1,650 |
| Armored Vehicles | 12,000 | 2,500 |
| Self-Propelled Artillery | 100 | 292 |
| Towed Artillery | 4,175 | 2,030 |
| Rocket Projectors | 266 | 1,900 |
Air Force — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
India
|
Iran
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Aircraft | 2,182 | 551 |
| Fighters | 538 | 196 |
| Attack Aircraft | 172 | 0 |
| Transport Aircraft | 250 | 91 |
| Trainer Aircraft | 359 | 112 |
| Helicopters | 812 | 152 |
| Attack Helicopters | 68 | 12 |
Naval Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
India
|
Iran
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Naval Assets | 295 | 398 |
| Aircraft Carriers | 2 | 0 |
| Destroyers | 12 | 0 |
| Frigates | 13 | 7 |
| Corvettes | 19 | 3 |
| Submarines | 17 | 19 |
| Patrol Vessels | 139 | 230 |
| Mine Warfare Vessels | 3 | 5 |
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