India vs China defense budget and equipment comparison

• India is currently embroiled in a border dispute with China in the Galwan valley region.
• India has a defense budget of $71.1 billion and China’s defense outlay of $261 billion.
• In this post, we compare the defense budget and equipment of the two nuclear-armed countries.

India is currently embroiled in a border dispute with China after forces from the two countries clashed in the Galwan Valley region earlier this month. The clashes resulted in the death of 20 Indian soldiers. China has not revealed the number of casualties on its side.

The clashes have led to increased tensions between the two countries and there have been reports that the countries have started to amass tanks and other equipment in the border areas.


The Indian government has also expedited an order for twenty-one MiG 29 and twelve Su 30 MKI fighter jets from Russia

Let’s look at how the defense budget and equipment of the two countries fares against other:

Defense budget

Particulars	India	China
Defense budget	$71.1 billion	$261 billion

Source: SIPRI

As per a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), India has the third biggest defense budget at $71.1 billion. However, China’s defense budget is more than three times that of India at $261 billion.

Nuclear warheads

Particulars	India	China
Nuclear warheads	150	320

Source: SIPRI

India currently has a stockpile of 150 nuclear warheads and China’s stockpile is more than double at 320 warheads.

Personnel

Particulars	India	China
Active personnel	14,44,000	21,83,000
Reserve personnel	21,00,000	5,10,000

Source: Global Firepower

India’s active personnel include 14,40,000 personnel, which is lower than China’s 21,83,000 personnel. However, India has a much better bench strength with 21,00,000 reserve personnel compared to China’s 5,10,000 reserve personnel.

Army

Particulars	India	China
Tanks	4,292	3,500
Armored vehicles	8,686	33,000
Self-propelled artillery	235	3,800
Field artillery	4,060	3,600
Rocket projectors	266	2,650

Source: Global Firepower

With 4,292 tanks, India is ahead of China which has just 3,500 tanks.

Apart from this, India has 235 self-propelled artillery, 4,060 field artillery and 266 rocket projectors. On the other hand, China has 3,800 self-propelled artillery, 3,600 field artillery and 2,650 rocket projectors.

Air power

Particulars	India	China
Combat aircraft	538	1,232
Dedicated attack aircrafts	172	371
Special mission planes	77	111
Helicopters	722	911
Helos	23	281

Source: Global Firepower

India has a total of 2,123 total aircrafts including 538 combat aircraft, 172 dedicated attack aircrafts, 77 special mission planes, 722 helicopters and 23 attack helos.

On the other hand, China has a total of 3,210 aircrafts including 1,232 combat aircraft, 371 dedicated attack aircrafts, 111 special mission planes, 911 helicopters and 281 attack helos.

Naval power

Particulars	India	China
Aircraft carriers	1	2
Submarines	16	74
Destroyers	10	36
Frigates	13	52
Corvettes	19	50
Mine warfare	3	29
Coastal patrol	139	220

Source: Global Firepower

India has a fleet strength of 285 including 1 aircraft carrier, 16 submarines, 10 destroyers, 13 frigates, 19 corvettes, 3 mine warfare ships and 139 coastal patrol ships.

China has a fleet strength of 777 with 2 aircraft carriers, 74 submarines, 36 destroyers, 52 frigates, 50 corvettes, 29 mine warfare ships and 220 coastal patrol ships.

SEE ALSO:

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India’s hits back at China over Galwan Valley claim calling it 'exaggerated and untenable'