Which countries have the most powerful battle tanks in the world? The ranking according to updated data for 2024.
Battle tanks are a crucial component of the armed forces of many countries around the world. These offer a powerful combat and defense capacity and are also used as a yardstick to define the capacity of an army.
Russia, United States and China are among the countries with the most powerful tanks in the world, but Europe is also equipped with high-level tanks such as German Leopard 2 and French Leclerc. Another very powerful tank seen on several occasions in operation is the Merkava of Israel.
Tanks represent a crucial component of modern military power, and countries that possess the most advanced models often enjoy a significant strategic advantage on the battlefield. We continue to invest in the development and maintenance of these machines because they are believed to be essential to maintaining national security. In other cases, it is the concept of "military deterrence" that pushes towards the development and production of tanks, as happened during the Cold War for the nuclear arsenal.
1. United States
It is not at all surprising to discover that the United States, the most powerful army in the world, is the country where there are most tanks. According to the 2024 military balance report, provided by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the United States has just over 45 thousand armored combat vehicles in operation.
Beyond these, they have 2,640 main battle tanks and 12,800 vehicles in storage, of which 2,000 are main battle tanks. Between reconnaissance vehicles, infantry fighting vehicles, personnel carriers, amphibious assault vehicles, and armored commercial vehicles, the United States has over 60 thousand military vehicles.
2. Russia
Russia is the second country by number of tanks. In total, it should have almost 24 thousand vehicles, although according to Oryx - a Dutch open source defense intelligence website - Russia appears to have lost almost 2,800 main battle tanks since it invaded Ukraine.
A figure which, when compared with last year’s numbers (2,927 main battle tanks), marks a huge loss. It is no coincidence that Russia has increased internal production, operating 24 hours a day to construct military vehicles.
This is a necessity given by the stock consumption of the Soviet era. Below is a table for comparing data between 2023 and 2024:
| category | 2023 | 2024 | percentage |
| main battle tanks | 5,000 | 4,000 | -20% |
| armoured reconnaissance | 1,000 | 100 | -90% |
| infantry vehicles | 4,000 | 2,800 | -30% |
| personal transport vehicles | 6,000 | 2,300 | -61.7% |
In total, out of 16 thousand vehicles present in 2023, Russia should possess approximately 9,200 (-42.5%) in 2024.
3. China
China holds third place overall and first place globally in the number of main battle tanks in operation. Furthermore, it does not have any vehicles in storage and this is because modernization is constant and only the older vehicles remain in stock.
If it is third in terms of the number of tanks, in terms of the number of armored vehicles, combat vehicles and wheeled people transport it is positioned immediately behind the States. United.
The other countries
The ranking of other countries by number of armored vehicles (including tanks):
- United States with 60,937
- Russia with 23,928
- China with 20,254
- Türkiye with 11,702
- Egypt with 10,389
- India with 8,309
- South Korea with 7,261
- Saudi Arabia with 7,227
- North Korea with 6,560
- Pakistan with 6,137
- Greece with 4,190
- Ukraine with 4,083
- Algeria with 3,866
- Vietnam with 3,779
- Iran with 2,878
Original article published on Money.it Italy 2024-03-19 19:49:41. Original title: Questi Paesi hanno i carri armati più potenti
