United Statesvs Russia
On Global Firepower's 2026 index, the United States (#1) holds a narrow edge over Russia (#2).
- The United States has 11× as many aircraft carriers.
- The United States fields 6.4× as many destroyers.
- The United States spends 5× as much on its military.
Who leads in each area
- People and moneyEven, 2–2
- Land forcesRussia leads 4 of 5
- Air powerUnited States leads 7 of 7
- Naval forcesEven, 3–3
- Nuclear weaponsRussia 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.
$954B
Military spending
$190B1.33M
Active personnel
1.32M800K
Reserves
2M0
Paramilitary
250KSpending is SIPRI's 2025 estimate in US dollars (United States: 3.1% of GDP; Russia: 7.5% of GDP).
Land forces
Armour and artillery: the weight an army can put on the ground.
4,666
Tanks
5,630410K
Armored vehicles
127K1,521
Self-propelled artillery
3,6031,878
Towed artillery
5,9201,731
Rocket artillery
2,486Air power
Fixed-wing and rotary aircraft across all branches.
13,032
Total aircraft
4,2371,791
Fighters
861926
Attack aircraft
6985,913
Helicopters
1,6431,024
Attack helicopters
556610
Tankers
18917
Transports
458Naval forces
Hull counts, from carriers down to patrol boats.
465
Total fleet
74711
Aircraft carriers
19
Helicopter carriers
066
Submarines
6683
Destroyers
130
Frigates
1227
Corvettes
79Nuclear weapons
Estimated warheads in military stockpiles, January 2026.
3,700
Warheads
4,4001,770
Deployed warheads
1,796Compare other countries
Related matchups
- United StatesvsChina
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- ChinavsRussia
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- RussiavsPoland
- RussiavsUnited Kingdom
- RussiavsFrance
Profiles: United States and Russia. Sources: Global Firepower 2026, SIPRI Military Expenditure 2025 (Apr 2026), SIPRI Yearbook 2026: World Nuclear Forces.