Iran vs Israel: Firepower And Military Strengths Compared As Middle East Stares At Full-Scale War

Iran-Israel Firepower Comparison: Arch enemies Israel and Iran are closer than ever before to a direct confrontation, threatening a wider conflict and a lasting phase of destability in the Middle East. Israel has so far eliminated a number of high-profile leaders of Iranian proxy groups during the course of the ongoing Gaza war, which is close to completing its two years of existence.

On Tuesday, Iran launched a barrage of missiles towards Israel. Though several of the projectiles were successfully shot down, the remaining ones managed to breach the Israeli missile defence systems. The Iranian mass missile strike, second such attack by Tehran since April this year, saw close to 180 projectiles being fired towards Israel.

No casualties were reported by Israel in the latest Iranian aggression. In the event of a conventional warfare, the Israeli military is expected to simultaneously face not just the regular Iranian armed forces, but also the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the host of Iranian proxies operating across the Middle East.

ISRAEL-IRAN: FIREPOWER COMPARISON

MILITARY STRENGTH

As per the latest PowerIndex compiled by 'Global Firepower (GFP)', Israel lags behind Iran in the terms of military manpower. While Iran is ranked 14 out of the 145 countries considered for the 2024 GFP review, Israel stands three positions below at 17.

The 2024 GFP FirePower index estimates Iran to have a combined strength of 11.8 lakh military personnel, including 6.1 lakh active duty and 3.5 lakh reserved personnel. The remaining of Iran's military manpower, as estimated by GFP, is comprised of 2.2 lakh paramilitary personnel.

The Iranian paramilitary is largely composed of the IRGC, which was established in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic Revolution as a counterweight to the regular armed forces. The Guards owe their allegiance to the ruling Shia Muslim clerical system of the Islamic republic.

The IRGC is a force that operates parallaly to the regular Iranian military and has its own army, navy, air force and intelligence wing. The IRGC has an estimated 1.25 lakh-strong military with army, navy and air units.

On the other hand, the Israel Defence Force (IDF) has an estimated total manpower of 6.7 lakh, including 1.7 lakh active duty personnel and 4.5 lakh reservists. Israel also has a 35,000-strong paramilitary.

ISRAEL-IRAN ARMY SIZE COMPARISON

Though Iran boasts of a numerical superiority over Israel when it comes to land-based forces, modern warfare is much more inclined to tip in the favour of nations that invest heavily in making their armies technologically superior. Israel fits perfectly in the said category.

ISRAEL-IRAN AIR FORCE SIZE COMPARISON

The Iranian air force has 37,000 personnel, but decades of international sanctions have largely cut the country off from the latest high-tech military equipment, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London (IISS).

The Iranian air force only has a few dozen working strike aircraft, including Russian jets and ageing US models acquired before the Iranian revolution of 1979. Tehran has a squadron of nine F-4 and F-5 fighter jets, one squadron of Russian-made Sukhoi-24 jets, and some MiG-29s, F7 and F14 aircraft, IISS said.

Israel, on the other hand, has an advanced, US-supplied air force with hundreds of F-15, F-16 and F-35 multipurpose jet fighters. These played a role in shooting down Iranian drones in April when Iran launched explosive drones and fired missiles at Israel in its first direct attack on Israeli territory.

The Israeli air force lacks long-range bombers, though a smaller fleet of repurposed Boeing 707s serve as refueling tankers that could enable its fighters to reach Iran for pinpoint sorties.

IRAN-ISRAEL NAVAL PROWESS COMPARISON

While both Iranian and Israeli naval forces lack aircraft carriers, which are considered the biggest force multipliers in maritime and air operations, in their fleets, Israel is regarded to have a technologically superior navy compared to Iran. 

(With inputs from Reuters)