Military power of Spain & United Kingdom
Spain vs United Kingdom
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Spain is a country located in Southwestern Europe with an area of 505,990 km2 (land boundries: 1,952.7 km and costline 4,964 km). The capital of Spain is Madrid. The number of inhabitants is 47,450,795.
Spain joined NATO in 1982. The inventory of the Spanish military is comprised of domestically-produced and imported Western weapons systems. Spain's defense industry manufactures land, air, and sea weapons systems and is integrated within the European defense-industrial sector.
More about Spain militaryUnited Kingdom is a country located in Western Europe with an area of 242,495 km2 (land boundries: 499 km and costline 12,429 km). The capital of United Kingdom is London. The number of inhabitants is 67,886,004.
the UK is a member of NATO and was one of the original 12 countries to sign the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949. The UK is also a member of the Five Powers Defense Arrangements reached in 1971 embracing also Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore. The inventory of the British military is comprised of a mix of domestically-produced and imported Western weapons systems. The Uunited States is the leading supplier of armaments. United Kingdom defense industry is capable of producing a wide variety of weapons systems and is one of the world's top weapons suppliers.
More about United Kingdom militaryIf you want to check the comparison in terms of economic ratios check out CompareEconomy.com
Military expenditures
 ES |  GB | |
|---|---|---|
| Military budget: | 19.5 billion $ | 58.2 billion $ |
| Percent of GDP: | 1.4% | 2.2% |
Manpower
| ES | GB | |
|---|---|---|
| Active personnel: | 133,282 | 148,220 |
| Reserve personnel: | 15,150 | 37,000 |
| Available for military: | 11,759,557 | 14,856,917 |
Land Forces
| ES | GB | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tanks: | 327 | 286 | |
| Armoured fighting vehicles: | 2,361 | 4,644 | |
| Total artillery: | 242 | 259 | |
| Self-propelled artillery: | 102 | 89 | |
| Rocket artillery: | 0 | 44 |
Air Forces
| ES | GB | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Total aircraft: | 570 | 996 | |
| Fighter aircraft: | 68 | 157 | |
| Multirole aircraft: | 84 | 21 | |
| Attack aircraft: | 13 | 0 | |
| Helicopters: | 152 | 359 | |
| UCAV (combat drone): | 4 | 9 |
Navy
| ES | GB | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Total naval: | 60 | 74 | |
| Aircraftcarriers: | 1 | 1 | |
| Destroyers: | 0 | 6 | |
| Frigates: | 11 | 12 | |
| Corvettes: | 0 | 0 | |
| Submarines: | 2 | 10 |
☢ Nuclear weapons
Spain
Does not have nuclear weapons.
United Kingdom
Third out of fifth nuclear-weapon states that are under the NPT, the treaty of the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The first successful test in the nuclear history of Great Britain occurred in October 1952, three years after Russia’s first successful attempt. “Hurricane”, which was the codename for the test assumed the use of 3 megaton bomb, which was dropped in Australia. The UK itself did not have many tests after that. Comparing to a thousand and hundreds of tests by Americans and Russians, the Brits made only 45 tests of nuclear arsenal.
We should remember about the fact that United Kingdom was in a strict cooperation with United States at the very beginning. It means that we cannot forget about the tremendous help the Americans received from the British government and men of science while developing their first nuclear bomb. Unfortunately, all the data that USA could not be sent back to the UK, since the cooperation has ended prematurely. This was one of the reasons why UK developed their first nuclear weapon so late. At this moment, they possess 215 warheads in total, out of which 120 is deployed and completely operational.
Military service
Spain
18-26 years of age for voluntary military service by a Spanish citizen or legal immigrant, 2-3 year obligation; women allowed to serve in all SAF branches, including combat units; no conscription, but Spanish Government retains right to mobilize citizens 19-25 years of age in a national emergency; mandatory retirement of non-NCO enlisted personnel at age 45 or 58, depending on service length.
United Kingdom
16-33 years of age (officers 17-28) for voluntary military service (with parental consent under 18); no conscription; women serve in military services, but are excluded from ground combat positions and some naval postings; must be citizen of the UK, Commonwealth, or Republic of Ireland; reservists serve a minimum of 3 years, to age 45 or 55; 17 years 6 months of age for voluntary military service by Nepalese citizens in the Brigade of Gurkhas; 16-34 years of age for voluntary military service by Papua New Guinean citizens.