Army / Ground Forces
- Tanks
- 354
- Armored vehicles
- 8,982
- Self-propelled artillery
- 165
- Towed artillery
- 99
- MLRS
- 49
2026 military profile
United Arab Emirates Military Power
Middle East · Rank #47 of 145
3.9Strength Scoreout of 100 — #47 globally
How this score is calculatedUnited Arab Emirates military overview
In the MilitaryDex 2026 data edition, United Arab Emirates ranks #47 of 145 countries with an MSS score of 3.9/100. The profile reports 65,000 active personnel, 581 total aircraft, 354 tanks and 47 naval assets, supported by an estimated annual defense budget of $23.5B.
Its highest normalized MSS category is Air Force (4/100); its lowest is Nuclear (0/100). These are relative inventory scores, not assessments of readiness or combat effectiveness.
Profile scope
- Data edition
- 2026
- Indicators
- 29 fields
- Country set
- 145
- Regional rank
- #6 of 13
- Missing data
- Shown as N/A
KEY MILITARY STATISTICS
Active troops
65,000
↓60% vs avg
Reserve troops
130,000
Total aircraft
581
↑62% vs avg
Naval assets
47
↑0% vs avg
Defense budget
$23.5B
Nuclear warheads
0
Regional and population context
Rank in Middle East
#6
of 13 profiles
Population
11,513,149
World Bank 2025
Nominal GDP
$552.3B
World Bank 2024
Land area
71,020 km²
World Bank 2023
Budget per resident
$2,039.407
derived from reported budget and population
Active troops per 1,000
5.65
population-normalized
Regional medians
100,000 troops
263 aircraft
Army, air force and navy inventory
Air Force
- Total aircraft
- 581
- Fighters
- 99
- Attack aircraft
- 40
- Transport aircraft
- 192
- Helicopters
- 250
- Attack helicopters
- 30
Navy
- Total vessels
- 47
- Aircraft carriers
- 0
- Destroyers
- 0
- Submarines
- 0
- Frigates
- 0
- Patrol vessels
- 34
MSS category profile
Normalized against the largest value in the 2026 country set. The listed weight is each category's contribution to the overall score.
Manpower (25% weight)2/100
Air Force (20% weight)4/100
Navy (15% weight)2/100
Army (15% weight)4/100
Financial (15% weight)4/100
Nuclear (10% weight)0/100
Compare United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates military power FAQ
What is United Arab Emirates's military rank in 2026?
MilitaryDex ranks United Arab Emirates #47 of 145 countries using its inventory-based MSS formula. This is a MilitaryDex calculation, not an official government ranking.
How large are United Arab Emirates's armed forces?
The current profile reports 65,000 active personnel, 130,000 reserve personnel and 12,000 paramilitary personnel.
Does a higher score mean United Arab Emirates would win a war?
No. MSS summarizes selected inventory and spending figures. It does not model readiness, training, geography, alliances, logistics, doctrine, technology quality or political objectives.