Spainvs United States
On Global Firepower's 2026 index, the United States (#1) holds a clear lead over Spain (#18).
- The United States has nuclear weapons; Spain has none.
- The United States has destroyers; Spain has none.
- The United States fields 33× as many submarines.
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.
$40.2B
Military spending
$954B122K
Active personnel
1.33M24K
Reserves
800K78K
Paramilitary
0Spending is SIPRI's 2025 estimate in US dollars (Spain: 2.1% of GDP; United States: 3.1% of GDP).
Land forces
Armour and artillery: the weight an army can put on the ground.
298
Tanks
4,66649K
Armored vehicles
410K96
Self-propelled artillery
1,521188
Towed artillery
1,8780
Rocket artillery
1,731Air power
Fixed-wing and rotary aircraft across all branches.
440
Total aircraft
13,032136
Fighters
1,79112
Attack aircraft
926169
Helicopters
5,91317
Attack helicopters
1,0240
Tankers
61051
Transports
917Naval forces
Hull counts, from carriers down to patrol boats.
175
Total fleet
4651
Aircraft carriers
110
Helicopter carriers
92
Submarines
660
Destroyers
8311
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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- SpainvsItaly
- United KingdomvsSpain
Profiles: Spain and United States. Sources: Global Firepower 2026, SIPRI Military Expenditure 2025 (Apr 2026), SIPRI Yearbook 2026: World Nuclear Forces.