India vs Saudi Arabia Military Comparison
Side-by-side military strength: active personnel, defense budgets, air force aircraft, and naval assets.
India
1M active troops
$80B budget
VS
Saudi Arabia
200K active troops
$70B budget
4,614
Tanks
1,062
12,000
Armored Vehicles
5,472
4,275
Artillery
484
266
Rocket Systems
322
538
Fighter Jets
177
812
Helicopters
244
295
Warships
55
17
Submarines
0
Nuclear Arsenal
India
LARGEST
172
WARHEADS
Saudi Arabia
NON-NUCLEAR
0
WARHEADS
Warheads Over Time
Estimated total warhead inventories — Federation of American Scientists / SIPRI
Defense Budget vs GDP
Historical defense spending and how it compares to each country's GDP. The % of GDP view normalises for economic size so smaller economies aren't drowned out by absolute dollar figures.
Defense Budget Over Time ($B)
Defense Budget as % of GDP
Source: World Bank Open Data API (MS.MIL.XPND.CD)
Military Active Personnel
India
LARGEST
1.45M
TROOPS
Saudi Arabia
15.7% OF LARGEST
227K
TROOPS
India has 6.37× the active personnel of Saudi Arabia
Air Force Total Aircraft
India
LARGEST
2.18K
AIRCRAFT
Saudi Arabia
41.1% OF LARGEST
897
AIRCRAFT
India has 2.43× the aircraft of Saudi Arabia
Total Naval Assets
Land Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
India
|
Saudi Arabia
|
|---|---|---|
| Active Personnel | 1,445,000 | 227,000 |
| Reserve Personnel | 1,155,000 | 0 |
| Total Military Personnel | 2,610,550 | 227,000 |
| Defense Budget (USD) | $81,400,000,000 | $67,600,000,000 |
| Tanks | 4,614 | 1,062 |
| Armored Vehicles | 12,000 | 5,472 |
| Self-Propelled Artillery | 100 | 224 |
| Towed Artillery | 4,175 | 260 |
| Rocket Projectors | 266 | 322 |
Air Force — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
India
|
Saudi Arabia
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Aircraft | 2,182 | 897 |
| Fighters | 538 | 177 |
| Attack Aircraft | 172 | 245 |
| Transport Aircraft | 250 | 221 |
| Trainer Aircraft | 359 | 173 |
| Helicopters | 812 | 244 |
| Attack Helicopters | 68 | 39 |
Naval Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
India
|
Saudi Arabia
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Naval Assets | 295 | 55 |
| Aircraft Carriers | 2 | 0 |
| Destroyers | 12 | 3 |
| Frigates | 13 | 7 |
| Corvettes | 19 | 4 |
| Submarines | 17 | 0 |
| Patrol Vessels | 139 | 11 |
| Mine Warfare Vessels | 3 | 7 |
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