Iran-Israel military strength comparison

ISLAMABAD: Iran has numerically greater manpower, ground forces and navy than Israel, which is superior to its adversary in terms of air power and technology — the decisive elements of war.

In 2024, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Israel’s military spending jumped 65 percent to $46.5 billion, marking the largest yearly rise since the six-day war in 1967. In contrast, Iran’s actual military expenditure decreased to $7.9 billion in 2024, a 10 percent reduction.

More importantly, Israel is the sixth largest arms importer in the Middle East, and the 15th largest globally. The USA was its largest supplier in 2020–24 (66 percent) followed by Germany (33 percent).

Using data from the Global Firepower official website, a comparison of the military capabilities of Israel and Iran is presented below.

Active Personnel

Iran has 610,000 active personnel including 350,000 in the army, 190,000 in the IRGC, 18,000 in the navy, 37,000 in the air force and 15,000 in air defence. Additionally, it has a reserve army of 350,000. Conscription is mandatory for Iranian men aged 18 and above, with a few exemptions.

Israel has 169,500 active personnel, including 126,000 in the army, 9,500 in the navy and 34,000 in the air force. Israel has a reserve army of 465,000. Israel mandates conscription of most young men and women above 18 years of age, with certain exemptions.

Artillery and Armed Vehicles

Iran has at least 10,513 battle tanks, 6,798 artillery guns and more than 640 armoured personnel carriers. The army also has 50 helicopters, while the IRGC has five helicopters. Israel has about 400 battle tanks, 530 artillery guns and more than 1,190 personnel carriers.

Air Power

Iran’s air force has 312 combat-capable aircraft, and the IRGC has another 23. The air force has two attack helicopters, the army has 50, and the IRGC has five. Israel has 345 combat-capable aircraft and 43 attack helicopters.

Naval Power

Iran has 17 tactical submarines, 68 patrol and coastal combatants, seven corvettes, 12 landing ships, 11 landing craft, and 18 logistics and support vehicles. Israel has five submarines and 49 patrol and coastal combatants.

Ballistic Missiles

Iran has at least 12 different types of medium- and short-range ballistic missiles in its arsenal. These range from the Tondar 69, which has a range of 150km (93 miles), to the Khorramshahr and Sejjil, which range up to 2,000km (1,243 miles). Israel has at least four different types of small, medium and intermediate-range ballistic missiles, ranging from the LORA with a range of 280km (174 miles) to the Jericho-3 with a range between 4,800km (2,983 miles) and 6,500km (4,039 miles).

Air Defense

Israel’s air defence relies on what is known as the Iron Dome system, which is believed to have intercepted most of Iran’s missiles on Tuesday night. The system is equipped with a radar that detects an incoming projectile, as well as its speed and direction. The control centre then calculates whether the projectile poses a threat to Israeli towns. The projectiles that do not pose a threat are allowed to land in empty fields. If they pose a threat, the missile-firing unit launches missiles to shoot them down. The launcher contains 20 interceptor missiles. There are 10 Iron Dome batteries scattered around Israel. Other systems intercept medium and long-range missiles. The David’s Sling intercepts missiles ranging between 40km (25 miles) and 300km (186 miles). The Arrow System intercepts missiles with a range of up to 2,400km (1,491 miles). In February, Iran deployed the short-range, low-altitude Azarakhsh, which means “thunderbolt” in Persian. It is an infrared detection system, equipped with radar and electro-optic systems to detect and intercept targets. It can be mounted on vehicles. Iran has a range of different surface-to-air missile defence systems. These include over 42 long-range Russian-manufactured S-200s, S-300s and local Bavar-373; the over 59 medium-range US MIM-23 Hawk, HQ-2J and Khordad-15; and the 279 short-range Chinese-manufactured CH-SA-4 and 9K331 Tor-M1.