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Military power of Turkey & Iran

Turkey vs Iran

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Turkey Iran

Turkey is a country located in Southeastern Europe and Southwestern Asia (that portion of Turkey west of the Bosporus is geographically part of Europe) with an area of 783,562 km² (land boundries: 2,816 km and costline 7,200 km). The capital of Turkey is Ankara. The number of inhabitants is 83,614,362.

Turkey has been a member of NATO since 1952 and hosts NATO's Land Forces Command in Izmir. Under a long-range strategic plan, the Turkish Armed Forces continued efforts to modernize its equipment and force structure. The Turkish Armed Forces inventory is mostly comprised of a mix of domestically-produced and Western weapons systems. In 2019 Turkey purchased the Russian S-400 air defense system. That complicated its relationship with NATO. Turkey has a strong defense industry capable of producing a range of weapons systems for both export and internal use.

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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.

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If you want to check the comparison in terms of economic ratios check out CompareEconomy.com

Military expenditures

Military budget

15.8 billion $

10 billion $

Percent of GDP

1.5 %

2.1 %

Manpower

Active personnel

425,000

587,000

Reserve personnel

200,000

Available for military

21,079,077

23,619,215

Land Forces

Tanks

2,203

2,198

Armoured fighting vehicles

9,323

2,875

Total artillery

3,103

4,582

Self-propelled artillery

1,034

742

Rocket artillery

322

1,752

Air Forces

Total aircraft

1,408

1,052

Fighter

19

127

Multirole

234

76

Attack

0

21

Helicopters

349

339

UCAV (combat drone)

443

328

Navy

Total naval

191

279

Aircraft carriers

1

0

Destroyers

0

Frigates

17

7

Corvettes

9

3

Submarines

12

25

Nuclear weapons

Turkey

Turkey participates in the NATO nuclear weapons sharing arrangements and trains for delivering United States nuclear warheads.

Iran

Does not have nuclear weapons.

Military service

Turkey

21-41 years of age for male compulsory military service; 18 years of age for voluntary service; 12 months conscript obligation for non-university graduates, 6-12 months for university graduates (graduates of higher education may perform 6 months of military service as short-term privates, or 12 months as reserve officers); conscripts are called to register at age 20, for service at 21; women serve in the Turkish Armed Forces only as officers; reserve obligation to age 41; Turkish citizens with a residence or work permit who have worked abroad for at least 3 years (1095 days) can be exempt from military service in exchange for 6,000 EUR or its equivalent in foreign currencies; a law passed in December 2014 introduced a one-time payment scheme which exempted Turkish citizens 27 and older from conscription in exchange for a payment of $8,150.

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.