Iran Military Strength 2026
Rank #12 of 145Iran is ranked #12 of 145 nations on the Warfare Institute Strength Index, with a provisional score of 7.0 / 100. The comparable baseline weighs air power, land and naval forces, active manpower and financials, adjusted for equipment quality and readiness.
Category scores
| Air Superiority | 0 |
|---|---|
| Air Defense | Not scored |
| Long-Range Strike | Not scored |
| Land Forces | 12.1 |
| Naval Forces | 3.6 |
| Logistics | 2.8 |
| Manpower | 26.4 |
| Financials | 1.1 |
Key figures
- Active personnel
- 610,000
- Reserve personnel
- 350,000
- Total aircraft
- 551
- Fighters
- 188
- Attack helicopters
- 13
- Tanks
- 2,675
- Armored vehicles
- 75,939
- Self-propelled artillery
- 424
- Rocket artillery (MLRS)
- 1,550
- Naval vessels
- 57
- Aircraft carriers
- 0
- Submarines
- 25
- Defense budget
- $9.2B
- Population
- 88,386,937
What the ranking shows
Iran scores 7.0 out of 100. Its highest category score is Manpower (26.4); its lowest is Air Superiority (<0.1). Category scores compare this country with the strongest inventory in each category, rather than measuring the probability of winning a war.
The inventory reports 610,000 active personnel, 188 fighters, 2,675 tanks and 57 naval vessels. Geography, alliances, logistics and deployment conditions affect how those forces can be used. Inventory totals and readiness estimates are explained in the methodology.
Data dates and sources
Dated model records range from 2026-07 to 2026-07. The 2026 label identifies the ranking edition; individual observations may refer to earlier periods. Figures are public-source estimates.
- SIPRI Arms Transfers Database — rolling (SIPRI-AT)
- National defense ministry / operator equipment pages & releases (US Army, Japan MOD, UK MOD, France Armed Forces Ministry, Turkish SSB, Israeli MoD, ROK DAPA, …) — rolling (MOD-NATIONAL)
- IISS, The Military Balance 2026 — 2026 (IISS-MB26)
- Army Recognition, Janes-style public profiles, manufacturer pages (generation/rubric classification only) — rolling (OSINT-PROFILES)
- Naval News + official navy/shipbuilder releases — rolling (NAVAL-NEWS)
These citations identify the source families assigned to the model records; they do not imply every aggregate figure has been independently verified. See the source registry and corrections process.
Equipment by model
Model counts are estimates and may be reconciled to aggregate totals. — means undisclosed.
| Model | Category | In service | Data date | Source tag |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F-4 Phantom II | Fighter-bomber | 48 | 2026-07 | SIPRI-AT |
| F-14 Tomcat | Interceptor | 32 | 2026-07 | SIPRI-AT |
| F-5 Tiger II / HESA Saeqeh | Fighter | 27 | 2026-07 | MOD-NATIONAL |
| Su-22 | Fighter-bomber | 23 | 2026-07 | SIPRI-AT |
| MiG-29 | Multirole | 18 | 2026-07 | SIPRI-AT |
| Su-24 | Strike | 16 | 2026-07 | SIPRI-AT |
| Chengdu J-7 (F-7) | Fighter | 6 | 2026-07 | SIPRI-AT |
| Mirage F1 | Multirole | 9 | 2026-07 | SIPRI-AT |
| HESA Azarakhsh / Kowsar | Light combat | 9 | 2026-07 | SIPRI-AT |
| Su-35 | Multirole | 0 | 2026-07 | SIPRI-AT |
| Shahed-136 | Loitering munition | — | Not dated | Not assigned |
| Mohajer-6 | Armed ISTAR UCAV | — | Not dated | Not assigned |
| Shahed-129 | MALE UCAV | — | Not dated | Not assigned |
| Shahed-149 Gaza | MALE UCAV | — | Not dated | Not assigned |
| Karrar | Jet UCAV / target drone | — | Not dated | Not assigned |
| Arash-2 | Loitering munition | — | Not dated | Not assigned |
| AH-1J Cobra | Attack helicopter | 8 | 2026-07 | SIPRI-AT |
| Other attack helicopters (iran) | Attack helicopter | 5 | 2026-07 | IISS-MB26 |
| Bell 214/212/206 | Utility helicopter | 39 | 2026-07 | SIPRI-AT |
| Mi-17 | Utility helicopter | 26 | 2026-07 | SIPRI-AT |
| Other helicopters (iran) | Utility helicopter | 51 | 2026-07 | IISS-MB26 |
| P-3F / Boeing 707 ISR conversions | Special-mission | 10 | 2026-07 | SIPRI-AT |
| KC-707 / KC-747 legacy tankers | Tanker | 6 | 2026-07 | SIPRI-AT |
| C-130H / Il-76 / An-74 | Transport | 86 | 2026-07 | SIPRI-AT |
| Bavar-373 | Long-range SAM | 3 | 2026-07 | OSINT-PROFILES |
| S-300PMU2 | Long-range SAM / limited BMD | 0 | Not dated | Not assigned |
| Khordad-15 | Medium/long-range SAM | 18 | 2026-07 | OSINT-PROFILES |
| Sayyad / Talash family | Medium-range SAM | 24 | 2026-07 | OSINT-PROFILES |
| Tor-M1 | Short-range SAM / point defense | 29 | Not dated | Not assigned |
| Other submarines (iran) | Submarines | 25 | 2026-07 | NAVAL-NEWS |
| Other frigates (iran) | Frigates | 7 | 2026-07 | NAVAL-NEWS |
| Other corvettes (iran) | Corvettes | 3 | 2026-07 | NAVAL-NEWS |
| T-72S / Karrar | MBT | 803 | 2026-07 | MOD-NATIONAL |
| Chieftain / M60 / Zulfiqar | Legacy MBT | 749 | 2026-07 | SIPRI-AT |
| T-54/55 / Type 59 | Legacy MBT | 589 | 2026-07 | SIPRI-AT |
| Other tanks legacy (iran) | tank | 534 | 2026-07 | IISS-MB26 |
| BMP-1/2 | IFV | 16,707 | 2026-07 | SIPRI-AT |
| BTR/M113/Boraq family | APC | 25,819 | 2026-07 | SIPRI-AT |
| Other vehicles mixed (iran) | armored vehicle | 33,413 | 2026-07 | IISS-MB26 |
| M109 / Raad / 2S1 | SPG | 191 | 2026-07 | SIPRI-AT |
| Other self-propelled artillery mixed (iran) | self-propelled artillery | 233 | 2026-07 | IISS-MB26 |
| D-30 / M-46 / HM-41 | Towed artillery | 1,082 | 2026-07 | SIPRI-AT |
| Other towed artillery legacy (iran) | towed artillery | 721 | 2026-07 | IISS-MB26 |
| Fajr/Falaq rockets | MLRS | 496 | 2026-07 | SIPRI-AT |
| BM-21 Grad | MLRS | 589 | 2026-07 | SIPRI-AT |
| Other rocket artillery mixed (iran) | rocket artillery | 465 | 2026-07 | IISS-MB26 |
| Fateh-110 / Zolfaghar SRBM TELs | strike | 260 | Not dated | Not assigned |
| Kheibar Shekan / Dezful MRBM TELs | strike | 100 | Not dated | Not assigned |
| Shahab / Qiam / Emad TELs | strike | 140 | Not dated | Not assigned |
| Soumar / Hoveyzeh LACM launchers | strike | 50 | Not dated | Not assigned |
| Shahed-136 / 238 OWA salvo depth | strike | 400 | Not dated | Not assigned |