Military power of Iran & China
Iran vs China
Iran is a country located in Middle East with an area of 1,648,195 km2 (land boundries: 5,894 km and costline 2,440 km - note: Iran also borders the Caspian Sea (740 km)). The capital of Iran is Tehran. The number of inhabitants is 83,183,741.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was formed in May 1979. The IRGC was a highly institutionalized and parallel military force to Iran’s regular armed forces. The Iranian military's inventory includes a mix of domestically-produced and mostly older foreign equipment largely of Chinese, Russian, Soviet, and US origin. Iran has a defense industry with the capacity to develop, produce, support, and sustain air, land, missile, and naval weapons programs.
More about Iran militaryChina is a country located in Eastern Asia with an area of 9,596,961 km2 (land boundries: 22,457 km and costline 14,500 km). The capital of China is Beijing. The number of inhabitants is 1,444,390,177.
The People's Liberation Army is the military arm of the ruling Chinese Communist Party, which oversees the PLA through its Central Military Commission. The PLA is outfitted primarily with a wide mix of older and modern domestically-produced systems heavily influenced by technology derived from other countries. Russia is the main supplier military equipment outside the domestic industry.
More about China militaryIf you want to check the comparison in terms of economic ratios check out CompareEconomy.com
Military expenditures
IR | CN | |
---|---|---|
Military budget: | 10 billion $ | 408 billion $ |
Percent of GDP: | 2.1% | 1.7% |
Manpower
IR | CN | |
---|---|---|
Active personnel: | 587,000 | 2,035,000 |
Reserve personnel: | 200,000 | 2,000,000 |
Available for military: | 23,619,215 | 385,821,101 |
Land Forces
IR | CN | ||
---|---|---|---|
Tanks: | 2,842 | 5,750 | |
Armoured fighting vehicles: | 3,555 | 14,130 | |
Total artillery: | 4,873 | 7,094 | |
Self-propelled artillery: | 1,030 | 2,720 | |
Rocket artillery: | 1,755 | 3,140 |
Air Forces
IR | CN | ||
---|---|---|---|
Total aircraft: | 973 | 4,630 | |
Fighter aircraft: | 112 | 1,049 | |
Multirole aircraft: | 75 | 1,130 | |
Attack aircraft: | 23 | 120 | |
Helicopters: | 519 | 1,355 | |
UCAV (combat drone): | 83 | 151 |
Navy
IR | CN | ||
---|---|---|---|
Total naval: | 272 | 742 | |
Aircraftcarriers: | 0 | 4 | |
Destroyers: | 0 | 38 | |
Frigates: | 6 | 54 | |
Corvettes: | 3 | 73 | |
Submarines: | 19 | 74 |
☢ Nuclear weapons
Iran
Does not have nuclear weapons.
China
The last of five nuclear-weapon states under the NPT, which at this moment possesses approximately 280 nuclear warheads in total. Nevertheless, the number of deployed bombs is unknown. The first test that occurred to be successful occurred in 1964. The main goal of Chinese was to build a deterrent against two major nuclear powers, namely The United States as well as The Soviet Union. The nation decided to choose dried lake for the nuclear site, Lop Nur. Although China developed and tested its first atomic device only in 1964, they managed to test their first hydrogen bomb only 32 months later. As a result, they can boast with the shortest period between developing fission and fusion technology.
China managed to conduct 45 tests of nuclear weapons. Still, the data regarding the stockpile of accumulated warheads is uncertain. The same thing concerns the number of deployed warheads. It is all due to the limited information that the country provides. We should also bear in mind that they are the only country out of five nuclear-weapon states under the NPT that does not give a positive security assurance.
Military service
Iran
18 years of age for compulsory military service; 16 years of age for volunteers; 17 years of age for Law Enforcement Forces; 15 years of age for Basij Forces (Popular Mobilization Army); conscript military service obligation is 18 months; women exempt from military service.
China
18-24 years of age for selective compulsory military service, with a 2-year service obligation; no minimum age for voluntary service (all officers are volunteers); 18-19 years of age for women high school graduates who meet requirements for specific military jobs; a recent military decision allows women in combat roles.