Military power of Russia & Iran
Russia vs Iran
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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 militaryIran 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 militaryIf you want to check the comparison in terms of economic ratios check out CompareEconomy.com
Military expenditures
 RU |  IR | |
|---|---|---|
| Military budget: | 65.9 billion $ | 25 billion $ |
| Percent of GDP: | 4.1% | 2.5% |
Manpower
| RU | IR | |
|---|---|---|
| Active personnel: | 1,000,000 | 610,000 |
| Reserve personnel: | 2,000,000 | 350,000 |
| Available for military: | 34,765,736 | 23,619,215 |
Land Forces
| RU | IR | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tanks: | 12,267 | 2,842 | |
| Armoured fighting vehicles: | 24,172 | 3,555 | |
| Total artillery: | 18,266 | 4,873 | |
| Self-propelled artillery: | 6,443 | 1,030 | |
| Rocket artillery: | 4,331 | 1,755 |
Air Forces
| RU | IR | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Total aircraft: | 4,418 | 973 | |
| Fighter aircraft: | 340 | 112 | |
| Multirole aircraft: | 382 | 75 | |
| Attack aircraft: | 689 | 23 | |
| Helicopters: | 1,665 | 519 | |
| UCAV (combat drone): | 100 | 83 |
Navy
| RU | IR | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Total naval: | 653 | 272 | |
| Aircraftcarriers: | 1 | 0 | |
| Destroyers: | 14 | 0 | |
| Frigates: | 11 | 6 | |
| Corvettes: | 80 | 3 | |
| Submarines: | 66 | 19 |
☢ 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.
Iran
Does not have nuclear weapons.
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.
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.