Key Points

• Any United States and Russia military faceoff would be devastating for both sides. 
• The Russian military has shown cracks in its strength and training during its war with Ukraine. 
• The United States has a clear advantage with technology and naval power. 
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In the recent world of military conflict, two nations have been at the forefront of a global arms race since the end of World War II. With the beginning of the Cold War, Russia and the United States began amassing military strength that all but guaranteed Mutually Assured Destruction. Fast forward past the fall of the Cold War and the end of Russia’s hopes to spread Communism, which has only made the nation more dangerous. 

Today, Russia’s desire to flex its muscles and return to the days of the Soviet Union resulted in an invasion of Ukraine. This former Soviet Union satellite state has enjoyed independence and good relationships with the world for decades. Given Russia’s desire to flex some muscles, it begs the question of how a conflict between Russia and the United States would play out if it came to a shooting war. 

On paper, according to GlobalFirePower.com, Russia appears to have an edge in 12 out of 30 categories. Still, its invasion of Ukraine has shown its military to be underpowered, poorly trained, and unlikely to end in a victory against better-trained and equipped American forces. If anything, the biggest concern with Russia is that it still has approximately 5,580 nuclear warheads, and a global concern is that Russia might use them if it sees itself on the losing end of any military conflict. 

30. Global Firepower Power Index

• Russia: 0.0702 (ranked #2 in the world)
• United States: 0.0699 (ranked #1 in the world)
• Difference: 1 spot (in favor of the U.S.) 

29. Mine Warfare Ships

• Russia: 47 (ranked #1 in the world)
• United States: 8 (ranked #15 in the world)
• Difference: 39 ships (in favor of Russia) 

28. Special Mission Aircraft

• Russia: 145 (ranked #2 in the world)
• United States: 695 (ranked #1 in the world)
• Difference: 550 aircraft (in favor of the U.S.) 

27. Dedicated Attack Aircraft

• Russia: 730 (ranked #2 in the world)
• United States: 896 (ranked #1 in the world)
• Difference: 166 aircraft (in favor of the U.S.) 

26. Aerial Tankers

• Russia: 19 (ranked #3 in the world)
• United States: 606 (ranked #1 in the world)
• Difference: 587 aircraft (in favor of the U.S.) 

25. Transport Aircraft

• Russia: 453 (ranked #2 in the world)
• United States: 957 (ranked #1 in the world)
• Difference: 504 aircraft (in favor of the U.S.) 

24. Towed Artillery

• Russia: 8,356 (ranked #1 in the world)
• United States: 1,267 (ranked #14 in the world)
• Difference: 7,089 artillery units (in favor of Russia) 

23. Self-Propelled Artillery

• Russia: 6,208 (ranked #1 in the world)
• United States: 1,595 (ranked #5 in the world)
• Difference: 4,613 artillery units (in favor of Russia) 

22. Helicopter Carriers

• Russia: 0 (ranked #145 in the world)
• United States: 9 (ranked #1 in the world)
• Difference: 9 helicopter carriers (in favor of the U.S.) 

21. Corvettes 

• Russia: 83 (ranked #1 in the world)
• United States: 23 (ranked #4 in the world)
• Difference: 60 corvettes (in favor of Russia) 

20. Frigates

• Russia: 12 (ranked #6 in the world)
• United States: 0 (ranked #145 in the world)
• Difference: 12 frigates (in favor of Russia) 

19. Patrol Vessels

• Russia: 122 (ranked #8 in the world)
• United States: 5 (ranked #56 in the world)
• Difference: 117 patrol vessels (in favor of Russia) 

18. Mobile Rocket Projectors 

• Russia: 3,065 (ranked #2 in the world)
• United States: 694 (ranked #7 in the world)
• Difference: 2,371 mobile rocket projectors (in favor of Russia) 

17. Armored Vehicles

• Russia: 161,382 (ranked #3 in the world)
• United States: 360,069 (ranked #1 in the world)
• Difference: 198,687 armored vehicles (in favor of the U.S.) 

16. Fighter Aircraft

• Russia: 809 (ranked #3 in the world)
• United States: 1,854 (ranked #1 in the world)
• Difference: 1,045 fighter aircraft (in favor of the U.S.) 

15. Attack Helicopters

• Russia: 559 (ranked #2 in the world)
• United States: 1,000 (ranked #1 in the world)
• Difference: 441 attack helicopters (in favor of the U.S.) 

14. Destroyers

• Russia: 14 (ranked #4 in the world)
• United States: 75 (ranked #1 in the world)
• Difference: 61 destroyers (in favor of the U.S.) 

13. Submarines

• Russia: 65 (ranked #1 in the world)
• United States: 64 (ranked #2 in the world)
• Difference: 1 submarine (in favor of Russia.) 

12. Aircraft Carriers

• Russia: 2 (ranked #2 in the world)
• United States: 11 (ranked #1 in the world)
• Difference: 9 aircraft carriers (in favor of the U.S.) 

11. Fleet Strength

• Russia: 781 (ranked #1 in the world)
• United States: 472 (ranked #4 in the world)
• Difference: 309 ships (in favor of Russia) 

10. Tank Strength

• Russia: 14,777 (ranked #1 in the world)
• United States: 4,657 (ranked #5 in the world)
• Difference: 10,120 tanks (in favor of Russia) 

9. Helicopters

• Russia: 1,547 (ranked #2 in the world)
• United States: 5,737 (ranked #1 in the world)
• Difference: 4,190 helicopters (in favor of the U.S.) 

8. Total Aircraft

• Russia: 4,255 (ranked #2 in the world)
• United States: 13,209 (ranked #1 in the world)
• Difference: 8,954 aircraft (in favor of the U.S.) 

7. Defense Budget

• Russia: $109,000,000,000 (ranked #3 in the world)
• United States: $831,781,000,000 (ranked #1 in the world)
• Difference: $722,781,000,000 (in favor of the U.S.) 

6. Paramilitary Forces

• Russia: 250,000 (ranked #8 in the world)
• United States: 0 (ranked #145 in the world)
• Difference: 250,000 paramilitary personnel (in favor of Russia) 

5. Reaching Military Age Annually

• Russia: 1,275,290 (ranked #18 in the world)
• United States: 4,415,647 (ranked #5 in the world)
• Difference: 3,140,357 people (in favor of the U.S.) 

4. Fit-For-Service

• Russia: 46,477,247 (ranked #10 in the world)
• United States: 123,977,768 (ranked #3 in the world)
• Difference: 77,500,521 people (in favor of the U.S.) 

3. Available Manpower

• Russia: 69,432,472 (ranked #9 in the world)
• United States: 149,452,652 (ranked #3 in the world)
• Difference: 80,020,180 people (in favor of the U.S.) 

2. Reserve Military Personnel

• Russia: 2,000,000 (ranked #4 in the world)
• United States: 799,500 (ranked #1 in the world)
• Difference: 1,200,500 people (in favor of Russia) 

1. Active Military Personnel

• Russia: 1,320,000 (ranked #5 in the world)
• United States: 1,328,000 (ranked #3 in the world)
• Difference: 8,000 people (in favor of the U.S.) 

 

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