Israel vs Saudi Arabia Military Comparison
Side-by-side military strength: active personnel, defense budgets, air force aircraft, and naval assets.
Israel
200K active troops
$20B budget
VS
Saudi Arabia
200K active troops
$70B budget
1,650
Tanks
1,062
8,000
Armored Vehicles
5,472
950
Artillery
484
150
Rocket Systems
322
241
Fighter Jets
177
150
Helicopters
244
65
Warships
55
6
Submarines
0
Nuclear Arsenal
Israel
LARGEST
90
WARHEADS
Saudi Arabia
NON-NUCLEAR
0
WARHEADS
Warheads Over Time
Estimated total warhead inventories — Federation of American Scientists / SIPRI
Defense Budget vs GDP
Historical defense spending and how it compares to each country's GDP. The % of GDP view normalises for economic size so smaller economies aren't drowned out by absolute dollar figures.
Defense Budget Over Time ($B)
Defense Budget as % of GDP
Source: World Bank Open Data API (MS.MIL.XPND.CD)
Military Active Personnel
Saudi Arabia
LARGEST
227K
TROOPS
Israel
74.7% OF LARGEST
169.5K
TROOPS
Saudi Arabia has 1.34× the active personnel of Israel
Air Force Total Aircraft
Saudi Arabia
LARGEST
897
AIRCRAFT
Israel
67.0% OF LARGEST
601
AIRCRAFT
Saudi Arabia has 1.49× the aircraft of Israel
Total Naval Assets
Land Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Israel
|
Saudi Arabia
|
|---|---|---|
| Active Personnel | 169,500 | 227,000 |
| Reserve Personnel | 465,000 | 0 |
| Total Military Personnel | 634,500 | 227,000 |
| Defense Budget (USD) | $24,340,000,000 | $67,600,000,000 |
| Tanks | 1,650 | 1,062 |
| Armored Vehicles | 8,000 | 5,472 |
| Self-Propelled Artillery | 650 | 224 |
| Towed Artillery | 300 | 260 |
| Rocket Projectors | 150 | 322 |
Air Force — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Israel
|
Saudi Arabia
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Aircraft | 601 | 897 |
| Fighters | 241 | 177 |
| Attack Aircraft | 0 | 245 |
| Transport Aircraft | 64 | 221 |
| Trainer Aircraft | 146 | 173 |
| Helicopters | 150 | 244 |
| Attack Helicopters | 48 | 39 |
Naval Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
Israel
|
Saudi Arabia
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Naval Assets | 65 | 55 |
| Aircraft Carriers | 0 | 0 |
| Destroyers | 0 | 3 |
| Frigates | 0 | 7 |
| Corvettes | 8 | 4 |
| Submarines | 6 | 0 |
| Patrol Vessels | 45 | 11 |
| Mine Warfare Vessels | 0 | 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