Italyvs United States
On Global Firepower's 2026 index, the United States (#1) holds a solid edge over Italy (#10).
- The United States has nuclear weapons; Italy has none.
- The United States fields 28× as many destroyers.
- The United States fields 23× as many tanks.
Who leads in each area
- People and moneyUnited States leads 3 of 4
- Land forcesUnited States leads 5 of 5
- Air powerUnited States leads 7 of 7
- Naval forcesUnited States leads 6 of 7
- Nuclear weaponsUnited States leads 2 of 2
Leads count raw numbers in each category. Larger is not always stronger: a modern fleet can beat a bigger, older one.
People and money
Who can be put in uniform, and how much is spent keeping them there.
$48.1B
Military spending
$954B166K
Active personnel
1.33M18K
Reserves
800K105K
Paramilitary
0Spending is SIPRI's 2025 estimate in US dollars (Italy: 1.9% of GDP; United States: 3.1% of GDP).
Land forces
Armour and artillery: the weight an army can put on the ground.
203
Tanks
4,66687K
Armored vehicles
410K64
Self-propelled artillery
1,521108
Towed artillery
1,87821
Rocket artillery
1,731Air power
Fixed-wing and rotary aircraft across all branches.
714
Total aircraft
13,03288
Fighters
1,79165
Attack aircraft
926352
Helicopters
5,91337
Attack helicopters
1,0248
Tankers
61031
Transports
917Naval forces
Hull counts, from carriers down to patrol boats.
285
Total fleet
4652
Aircraft carriers
110
Helicopter carriers
98
Submarines
663
Destroyers
8314
Frigates
00
Corvettes
27Nuclear weapons
Estimated warheads in military stockpiles, January 2026.
0
Warheads
3,7000
Deployed warheads
1,770Compare other countries
Related matchups
- United StatesvsChina
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- United StatesvsIran
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- United StatesvsIndia
- ItalyvsFrance
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Profiles: Italy and United States. Sources: Global Firepower 2026, SIPRI Military Expenditure 2025 (Apr 2026), SIPRI Yearbook 2026: World Nuclear Forces.