Military profile
Russia Military Strength
Russia ranks #2 of 145 in the Global Firepower military strength ranking, with 830,900 active personnel. It spent $190.4 billion on its military in 2025 (7.5% of GDP).
Russia armed forces in numbers
Personnel
- Active military personnel
- 830,900#5 of 145
- Reserve military personnel
- 250,000#18 of 145
- Paramilitary forces
- 250,000#11 of 145
- Army personnel
- 360,000#8 of 145
- Air force personnel
- 250,000#4 of 145
- Navy personnel
- 155,000#3 of 145
Air power
- Total military aircraft
- 4,182#2 of 145
- Fighter aircraft
- 773#3 of 145
- Attack aircraft
- 744#2 of 145
- Military helicopters
- 1,531#2 of 145
- Attack helicopters
- 537#2 of 145
Land forces
- Tanks
- 12,566#1 of 145
- Self-propelled artillery
- 6,575#1 of 145
- Towed artillery
- 4,336#3 of 145
- Rocket artillery
- 3,887#1 of 145
Naval power
- Aircraft carriers
- 1#6 of 113
- Destroyers
- 15#4 of 113
- Frigates
- 11#12 of 113
- Corvettes
- 86#1 of 113
- Submarines
- 70#2 of 113
- Patrol vessels
- 59#12 of 113
- Mine warfare vessels
- 49#1 of 113
Finance
- Military spending
- $190.4 billion#3 of 156
- Military spending as % of GDP
- 7.5%#4 of 156
- Purchasing power parity (GDP, PPP)
- $3.90 trillion#6 of 145
Equipment and personnel: Global Firepower 2023 military strength ranking (2023). Spending: World Bank / SIPRI military expenditure data (CC BY 4.0).
Russia military spending 2010–2025
Military spending of Russia grew by 224% between 2010 and 2025, from $58.7 billion to $190.4 billion (current US dollars), and stood at 7.5% of GDP in 2025.
Armed forces of Russia
Branches and forces
Armed Forces of the Russian Federation: Ground Forces (SV), Aerospace Forces (VKS), Navy (VMF); separate or independent troop branches include the Airborne Forces (VDV), Missile Troops of Strategic Purpose (RVSN; commonly to as Strategic Rocket Forces), Special Operations Forces, and Unmanned Systems Forces Federal National Guard Troops Service of the Russian Federation (FSVNG, National Guard, Russian Guard, or Rosgvardiya) Federal Security Services (FSB): Federal Border Guard Service (includes land and maritime forces) (2025)
Personnel
estimated 1.1-1.2 million active Armed Forces; estimated 350,000 Federal National Guard Troops (2025)
Service age and conscription
18-30 years of age for compulsory service for men; 18-65 years of age for voluntary/contractual service; women and non-Russian citizens (18-30) may volunteer; minimum 12-month service obligation (2025)
Equipment and suppliers
the Russian Federation's military and paramilitary services are equipped with domestically produced weapons systems, although in recent years Russia has imported military hardware from external suppliers such as Iran and North Korea to support its war on Ukraine; the Russian defense industry is capable of producing a full range of advanced air, land, missile, and naval systems; Russia is one of the world's largest exporters of military hardware (2025)
Deployments abroad
estimated 600,000 in Ukraine; more than 20,000 additional military personnel deployed in former Soviet states and elsewhere, including Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Moldova, Syria, sub-Saharan Africa, and Tajikistan (2025)
Good to know
the Russian military is responsible for protecting the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity, providing maritime security, and supporting Moscow's national security objectives, including projecting influence and power abroad and deterring perceived external threats; its missions include air, land, maritime, strategic missile, and expeditionary operations; it is also active in the areas of cyber warfare, electronic warfare, and space; the Russian military's focus is its ongoing war on Ukraine and the perceived threat from NATO and the US in February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, beginning what is the largest war in Europe since World War II ended in 1945; Russian military forces occupied Ukraine’s province of Crimea in 2014, and Moscow subsequently backed separatist forces in the Donbas region of Ukraine with arms, equipment, and training, as well as Russian military troops, although Moscow denied their presence prior to 2022 Russia intervened in the Syrian civil war at the request of the Syrian Government from September 2015 until the collapse of the ASAD regime in December 2024; it was Moscow’s first overseas military expeditionary operation since the Soviet era; Russian assistance included air support, arms and equipment, intelligence, military advisors, private military contractors, special operations forces, and training; Russia seized the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia by force in 2008 (2025)
Military expenditure (% of GDP)
2024: 7% · 2023: 5% · 2022: 4.5% · 2021: 4% · 2020: 4%
Forces and service: CIA World Factbook (public domain).
Russia compared with its neighbours
| Country | Strength rank | Military spending |
|---|---|---|
| Russia | #2 | $190.4 billion |
 Kazakhstan | #63 | $1.3 billion |
 China | #3 | $335.5 billion |
 Mongolia | #99 | $221 million |
 Ukraine | #15 | $84.1 billion |
 Belarus | #60 | $1.9 billion |
 Finland | #51 | $8.1 billion |
 Georgia | #85 | $658 million |
 Azerbaijan | #57 | $4.9 billion |
 Latvia | #95 | $1.7 billion |
 Estonia | #104 | $1.6 billion |
 Lithuania | #93 | $3.0 billion |
 Poland | #20 | $46.8 billion |
 Norway | #35 | $17.0 billion |
 North Korea | #34 | — |