Military
This Country Built an Unmatched Artillery Arsenal of Nearly 15,000 Weapons
Published:
24/7 Wall St. Insights
- We used data from the 2024 Military Strength Ranking from Global Firepower.
- The #1 on this list might not surprise you at all.
- Also, Discover “The Next NVIDIA”
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine is the most recent, significant conflict where the world has seen the engagement of artillery units. While Russia may have more artillery in its arsenal than any other country on the planet, Ukrainian forces have a formidable stock of their own that has been put to use. Artillery is made up of tanks, military vehicles, and MLRS, and certain countries worldwide have a significant stockpile of them. Having a massive stock of artillery does not necessarily determine a country’s overall military strength in any given conflict. Still, it does help significantly in conflicts that are fought on the ground with troops.
Artillery units have evolved significantly since World War II due to technological advancement as well as military doctrine. Mobility and range are perhaps the most significant areas of advancement, allowing for maneuverability to avoid counterattacks and the ability to hit longer-range targets with more precision. Most modern militaries have a complement of these assets that support their troops when needed.
To identify the countries with the most artillery units, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 2024 Military Strength Ranking from Global Firepower, an annually updated defense-related statistics website with information on 145 countries. Countries were ranked on the total number of artillery units in their arsenal. We included supplemental information regarding the total number of military vehicles, tanks, and MLRS units, as well as each country’s overall military strength score.
Why Is This Important?
As previously mentioned, the Russian military possesses the largest artillery arsenal in the world, comprised of over 14,000 towed and self-propelled units. In complement to these artillery units, Russia also has the largest tank army in the world with nearly 15,000 tanks at its disposal. For the Red Army, it makes sense to have some of the largest ground forces on the planet, as Russia is the largest country in the world by square mileage, with at least one not-too-friendly neighbor.
Here is a look at the countries with the most artillery in their arsenal.
30. Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Total artillery: 590
- Total tanks: 91
- Total military vehicles: 450
- Total MLRS: 79
- Military strength score: 2.3996 – #116 out of 145
29. Azerbaijan
- Total artillery: 594
- Total tanks: 920
- Total military vehicles: 29,312
- Total MLRS: 218
- Military strength score: 0.9934 – #59 out of 145
28. Brazil
- Total artillery: 632
- Total tanks: 469
- Total military vehicles: 44,044
- Total MLRS: 78
- Military strength score: 0.1944 – #12 out of 145
27. Thailand
- Total artillery: 639
- Total tanks: 648
- Total military vehicles: 14,040
- Total MLRS: 26
- Military strength score: 0.3389 – #25 out of 145
26. Japan
- Total artillery: 653
- Total tanks: 518
- Total military vehicles: 37,662
- Total MLRS: 54
- Military strength score: 0.1601 – #7 out of 145
25. Kazakhstan
- Total artillery: 696
- Total tanks: 300
- Total military vehicles: 6,012
- Total MLRS: 407
- Military strength score: 0.9495 – #58 out of 145
24. Algeria
- Total artillery: 707
- Total tanks: 1,632
- Total military vehicles: 35,990
- Total MLRS: 236
- Military strength score: 0.3589 – #26 out of 145
23. Ethiopia
- Total artillery: 713
- Total tanks: 680
- Total military vehicles: 10,028
- Total MLRS: 79
- Military strength score: 0.7938 – #49 out of 145
22. Romania
- Total artillery: 720
- Total tanks: 345
- Total military vehicles: 9,990
- Total MLRS: 225
- Military strength score: 0.7712 – #47 out of 145
21. Finland
- Total artillery: 792
- Total tanks: 200
- Total military vehicles: 11,716
- Total MLRS: 76
- Military strength score: 0.7967 – #50 out of 145
20. Morocco
- Total artillery: 871
- Total tanks: 1,564
- Total military vehicles: 13,710
- Total MLRS: 208
- Military strength score: 1.0081 – #61 out of 145
19. Vietnam
- Total artillery: 880
- Total tanks: 2,029
- Total military vehicles: 18,578
- Total MLRS: 450
- Military strength score: 0.3158 – #22 out of 145
18. Israel
- Total artillery: 950
- Total tanks: 1,370
- Total military vehicles: 43,407
- Total MLRS: 150
- Military strength score: 0.2596 – #17 out of 145
17. Greece
- Total artillery: 1,318
- Total tanks: 1,365
- Total military vehicles: 57,030
- Total MLRS: 152
- Military strength score: 0.4349 – #32 out of 145
16. Taiwan
- Total artillery: 1,420
- Total tanks: 1,010
- Total military vehicles: 19,868
- Total MLRS: 223
- Military strength score: 0.3302 – #24 out of 145
15. Iraq
- Total artillery: 1,727
- Total tanks: 848
- Total military vehicles: 39,872
- Total MLRS: 425
- Military strength score: 0.7441 – #45 out of 145
14. Myanmar
- Total artillery: 2,083
- Total tanks: 705
- Total military vehicles: 8,139
- Total MLRS: 586
- Military strength score: 0.5251 – #35 out of 145
13. Ukraine
- Total artillery: 2,217
- Total tanks: 1,777
- Total military vehicles: 22,110
- Total MLRS: 491
- Military strength score: 0.2598 – #18 out of 145
12. Iran
- Total artillery: 2,630
- Total tanks: 1,996
- Total military vehicles: 65,765
- Total MLRS: 775
- Military strength score: 0.2269 – #14 out of 145
11. Syria
- Total artillery: 2,695
- Total tanks: 2,720
- Total military vehicles: 14,550
- Total MLRS: 614
- Military strength score: 1.0026 – #60 out of 145
10. Turkey
- Total artillery: 2,785
- Total tanks: 2,231
- Total military vehicles: 55,104
- Total MLRS: 286
- Military strength score: 0.1697 – #8 out of 145
9. United States
- Total artillery: 2,862
- Total tanks: 4,657
- Total military vehicles: 360,069
- Total MLRS: 694
- Military strength score: 0.0699 – #1 out of 145
8. Egypt
- Total artillery: 3,046
- Total tanks: 5,340
- Total military vehicles: 77,596
- Total MLRS: 1,119
- Military strength score: 0.2283 – #15 out of 145
7. Saudi Arabia
- Total artillery: 3,253
- Total tanks: 1,485
- Total military vehicles: 20,694
- Total MLRS: 490
- Military strength score: 0.3235 – #23 out of 145
6. India
- Total artillery: 3,383
- Total tanks: 4,614
- Total military vehicles: 151,248
- Total MLRS: 702
- Military strength score: 0.1023 – #4 out of 145
5. Pakistan
- Total artillery: 3,990
- Total tanks: 3,742
- Total military vehicles: 50,523
- Total MLRS: 602
- Military strength score: 0.1711 – #9 out of 145
4. China
- Total artillery: 5,284
- Total tanks: 5,000
- Total military vehicles: 174,300
- Total MLRS: 3,180
- Military strength score: 0.0706 – #3 out of 145
3. South Korea
- Total artillery: 8,052
- Total tanks: 2,501
- Total military vehicles: 66,492
- Total MLRS: 581
- Military strength score: 0.1416 – #5 out of 145
2. North Korea
- Total artillery: 9,000
- Total tanks: 5,845
- Total military vehicles: 24,696
- Total MLRS: 2,920
- Military strength score: 0.5313 – #36 out of 145
1. Russia
- Total artillery: 14,564
- Total tanks: 14,777
- Total military vehicles: 161,382
- Total MLRS: 3,065
- Military strength score: 0.0702 – #2 out of 145
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