Military Power.net

Saudi Arabiavs United States

On Global Firepower's 2026 index, the United States (#1) holds a clear lead over Saudi Arabia (#25).

  • The United States has nuclear weapons; Saudi Arabia has none.
  • The United States has aircraft carriers; Saudi Arabia has none.
  • The United States has submarines; Saudi Arabia has none.
  1. People and moneyUnited States leads 3 of 4
  2. Land forcesUnited States leads 5 of 5
  3. Air powerUnited States leads 7 of 7
  4. Naval forcesUnited States leads 6 of 7
  5. 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.

$83.2B
Military spending
$954B
247K
Active personnel
1.33M
0
Reserves
800K
150K
Paramilitary
0

Spending is SIPRI's 2025 estimate in US dollars (Saudi Arabia: 6.5% of GDP; United States: 3.1% of GDP).

Land forces

Armour and artillery: the weight an army can put on the ground.

1,085
Tanks
4,666
22K
Armored vehicles
410K
380
Self-propelled artillery
1,521
557
Towed artillery
1,878
327
Rocket artillery
1,731

Air power

Fixed-wing and rotary aircraft across all branches.

917
Total aircraft
13,032
283
Fighters
1,791
81
Attack aircraft
926
264
Helicopters
5,913
34
Attack helicopters
1,024
22
Tankers
610
49
Transports
917

Naval forces

Hull counts, from carriers down to patrol boats.

32
Total fleet
465
0
Aircraft carriers
11
0
Helicopter carriers
9
0
Submarines
66
0
Destroyers
83
7
Frigates
0
9
Corvettes
27

Nuclear weapons

Estimated warheads in military stockpiles, January 2026.

0
Warheads
3,700
0
Deployed warheads
1,770

Compare other countries

Related matchups

Profiles: Saudi Arabia and United States. Sources: Global Firepower 2026, SIPRI Military Expenditure 2025 (Apr 2026), SIPRI Yearbook 2026: World Nuclear Forces.