Military power of Russia & France
Russia vs France
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Russia is a country located in North Asia bordering the Arctic Ocean with an area of 17,098,242 km2 (land boundries: 22,407 km and costline 37,653 km). The capital of Russia is Moscow. The number of inhabitants is 146,171,015.
On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine with an estimated 150 k troops. Russia is the leading member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The Russian Federation's military is equipped with domestically-produced weapons systems. Russia is the world's second largest exporter of military hardware and has the world's largest stockpile of nuclear weapons.
More about Russia militaryFrance is a country located in
metropolitan France: Western Europe with an area of 640,679 km2 (land boundries: 3,956 km and costline 4,853 km
metropolitan France:>3,427 km). The capital of France is Paris. The number of inhabitants is 67,413,000.
France was one of the original 12 countries to sign the North Atlantic Treaty, which created NATO in 1949. France and the UK signed in 2010 a declaration on defense and security cooperation that included greater military interoperability and a Combined Joint Expeditionary Force. The CJEF was assessed as having full operating capacity with the ability to rapidly deploy over 10,000 personnel. The French military's inventory consists mostly of domestically-produced weapons systems, including some jointly-produced with other European countries. France has a defense industry capable of manufacturing the full spectrum of military weapons systems.
More about France militaryIf you want to check the comparison in terms of economic ratios check out CompareEconomy.com
Military expenditures
 RU |  FR | |
|---|---|---|
| Military budget: | 65.9 billion $ | 54 billion $ |
| Percent of GDP: | 4.1% | 1.7% |
Manpower
| RU | FR | |
|---|---|---|
| Active personnel: | 1,000,000 | 208,750 |
| Reserve personnel: | 2,000,000 | 141,050 |
| Available for military: | 34,765,736 | 14,563,662 |
Land Forces
| RU | FR | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tanks: | 12,267 | 406 | |
| Armoured fighting vehicles: | 24,172 | 6,463 | |
| Total artillery: | 18,266 | 134 | |
| Self-propelled artillery: | 6,443 | 109 | |
| Rocket artillery: | 4,331 | 13 |
Air Forces
| RU | FR | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Total aircraft: | 4,418 | 1,253 | |
| Fighter aircraft: | 340 | 56 | |
| Multirole aircraft: | 382 | 146 | |
| Attack aircraft: | 689 | 86 | |
| Helicopters: | 1,665 | 540 | |
| UCAV (combat drone): | 100 | 12 |
Navy
| RU | FR | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Total naval: | 653 | 111 | |
| Aircraftcarriers: | 1 | 4 | |
| Destroyers: | 14 | 11 | |
| Frigates: | 11 | 11 | |
| Corvettes: | 80 | 0 | |
| Submarines: | 66 | 10 |
☢ Nuclear weapons
Russia
The second most important state when it comes to researching, developing, and then storing nuclear weapon. Although the Russians managed to catch up with Americans later on, it was only in 1949 that the first nuclear test conducted by then the Soviet Union occurred. It was still quite a surprise for the Western Powers, who believed that Russia won’t be capable of producing nuclear warheads until 1953-1954. After the first test, the nation in question started to rapidly increase the amount of warheads they possessed. In the end of 1980s, they were the leading power when it comes to total number of warheads stored. It was approximately 40,000 warheads.
Nowadays, similarly to United States, the Russians store a total number of 6490 warheads, what is scarcely more than USA. When it comes to the number of deployed warheads, the amount is the same as in case of Americans, namely 1600 deployed warheads. We should also remember about the fact that Russia conducted over 700 tests, what makes them the second most important nation when it comes to developing nuclear weapons. However, it was the Soviet Union that managed to create the biggest bomb in the world. Known as Tsar Bomba, it had blast yield of 50 megatons of TNT.
France
France managed to research and develop its own nuclear weapon in 1960. The test, known as, Gerboise Bleue, was the result of mostly French research. One of the main figures that played crucial role in the entire process of developing the bomb was General Pierre Marie Gallois. He was concerned that the Suez Crisis, which started in 1956, would show the world how insignificant France became, since out of all Great Powers in the world, they were the only one without possessing its own nuclear arsenal. The tests were conducted on the terrains of Sahara Desert.
At this moment France owns 300 nuclear warheads, out of which almost all are deployed. What is more, compared to Great Britain, they made more tests, approximately 210. Noteworthy is the fact that the development of the first nuclear bomb in France as well as its tests were a bit controversial. It was due to the fact that France allowed Israeli observers to attend the tests, providing them with almost unrestricted access to all the data. It was quite important, since Israel, together with United Kingdom and France, were trying to invade Egypt.
Military service
Russia
18-27 years of age for compulsory or voluntary military service; males are registered for the draft at 17 years of age; 1-year service obligation (conscripts can only be sent to combat zones after 6 months of training); reserve obligation for non-officers to age 50; enrollment in military schools from the age of 16, cadets classified as members of the armed forces.
France
18-25 years of age for male and female voluntary military service; no conscription; 1-year service obligation; women serve in noncombat post.