List of military arms by countries

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SniperSquad

New Member
Hi everyone.

I would like to know if it's possible to have a list of the number of military vehicles (tanks, fighter, bombers, destroyers ...) a country has? Is there a list with the approximate number of those arms by countries? I know that a lot of those weapons are hidden by countries but I just want to have an idea of the military capacity of each country.

Thanks for your help!
 

ngatimozart

Super Moderator
Staff member
Verified Defense Pro
Hi everyone.

I would like to know if it's possible to have a list of the number of military vehicles (tanks, fighter, bombers, destroyers ...) a country has? Is there a list with the approximate number of those arms by countries? I know that a lot of those weapons are hidden by countries but I just want to have an idea of the military capacity of each country.

Thanks for your help!
SIPRI in Sweden is probably the best bet. They have a pretty good database but its behind a paywall.
 

Feanor

Super Moderator
Staff member
Hi everyone.

I would like to know if it's possible to have a list of the number of military vehicles (tanks, fighter, bombers, destroyers ...) a country has? Is there a list with the approximate number of those arms by countries? I know that a lot of those weapons are hidden by countries but I just want to have an idea of the military capacity of each country.

Thanks for your help!
Hypothetically it's possible but in reality it gets tough fast. First off what do you mean by "has"? Has in service? For smaller developed countries you can often get a pretty decent total inventory due to better transparency and relatively small armed forces. But take for example China. Who knows how much and of what they have in service. Or are you looking for totals in the country in general? Russia has entire fleets of aircraft and vehicles rotting on abandoned bases. Do they count? Some of them are pretty hard to return to service. On the other hand if the hull is good, and the vehicle was properly deactivated prior to going into storage, it can potentially be brought back online. Look at Ukraine, they've even reactivated BTR-60s with completely rotten guts. Far too many countries are not sufficiently transparent to be able to tell with any degree of certainty what exactly they have.
 

DDG38

The Bunker Group
Verified Defense Pro
Hi everyone.
I would like to know if it's possible to have a list of the number of military vehicles (tanks, fighter, bombers, destroyers ...) a country has? Is there a list with the approximate number of those arms by countries? I know that a lot of those weapons are hidden by countries but I just want to have an idea of the military capacity of each country.
Thanks for your help!
There are such lists, but it depends on what level security clearance you hold.
 

swerve

Super Moderator
Hi everyone.

I would like to know if it's possible to have a list of the number of military vehicles (tanks, fighter, bombers, destroyers ...) a country has? Is there a list with the approximate number of those arms by countries? I know that a lot of those weapons are hidden by countries but I just want to have an idea of the military capacity of each country.

Thanks for your help!
International Institute for Strategic Studies - but it ain't cheap.

Or for the free quick & dirty version by unverified amateurs using public data & not necessarily updated for a long time, Wikipedia.
 

SniperSquad

New Member
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
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In fact, I just want an overview of the countries materiel equipment in use (how many soldiers they have, tanks, ships, airplanes ...). A few years ago, I have seen a book with graphs on this subject. It is very useful if you want to know if Irak is stronger militarily compared to Iran ...
 

swerve

Super Moderator
Wikipedia will provide approximate figures. All from open sources, of course. I've seen some entries reference the IISS as a source. But you'll have to look at each country one by one.
 

CheeZe

Active Member
if Irak is stronger militarily compared to Iran
Numbers may not mean anything. There are plenty of unquantifiable military factors such as morale and willingness to fight (as evidenced by the initial Iraqi response to Daesh).

Then there are the on-paper stats vs. on-the-ground stats. Such as they may X number of tanks but said tanks are deployed on the other side of the country and are currently undergoing maintenance, they may as well not be counted on. Alternately, if Division Y has 10,000 troops on paper but a bunch of them have been given leave for the new year, then Division Y actually has fewer troops on hand. A more concrete example could be Iran's F-14s and their operational ability. I think that's up for debate (in the appropriate Air Forces thread).
 

Sandhi Yudha

Well-Known Member
I have just found this article.

Most Top 5 Best Tanks/Top 10 Elite Forces/Most Powerful countries list are unreliable, made by 'experts/journalists' using questionable sources with outdated information. Specially those on youtube are all fanboyish trash.

Even if you buy books, they are not all a reliable source of defence-facts.
Ive a book "The Most Powerfull Armies in the World" or something. Its based on outdated information, the authors own opinion and racistic views, and this 'expert' doesn't make a difference between an obsolete light tank and a modern MBT.
 
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Redlands18

Well-Known Member
Most Top 5 Best Tanks/Top 10 Elite Forces/Most Powerful countries list are unreliable, made by 'experts/journalists' using questionable sources with outdated information. Specially those on youtube are all fanboyish trash.

Ive a book "The Most Powerfull Armies in the World" or something. Its based on outdated information, the authors own opinion and racistic views and this 'expert'
And don’t forget all the “Military Experts”:D that pop up in comments
 

Sandhi Yudha

Well-Known Member
Wait wait wait - You're telling me that the Pontifical Swiss Guard aren't the best armoured unit in the world?

Hmmm... I'm gonna have to talk to my cousin living in France about the list he made...
Well....maybe your cousin is right....
No other unit in the world has armour on this level!

Maybe not all images are visible, but its an interesting read.
 
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