What military power does Europe have? More tanks than the US, but fewer soldiers than China.

BrusselsEurope has been determined to increase its military capabilities since Russia launched the war in Ukraine, but the return of Donald Trump has accelerated that objective, and the unanimity of European leaders regarding the desire to rearm at forced marches and regain military autonomy from the United States is almost absolute. Member states have already endorsed the roadmap of Ursula von der Leyen's European Commission, which in just four years plans to mobilize around 800 billion euros, and some countries, such as Germany and France, have also announced plans for rearmament at the national level. Furthermore, more and more European partners are seeking to accelerate the pace of defense spending, such as Spain, Belgium and Portugal, among others.

Now then, money isn't everythingEuropean leaders also insist on improving the coordination of European militaries and all military initiatives carried out from Europe, how can the purchase of weapons be or, for example, a new nuclear protection umbrella that would reinforce or replace what the United States currently offers its European partners. That's why EU states, together with close allies such as the United Kingdom and Norway, are pooling their military capabilities and, based on that, will decide how to spend the billions of dollars they plan to inject into defense.

The starting point for the number of soldiers is as follows. According to the prestigious report The Military Balance 2025, reported by several international media outlets, the combined strength of state armies - including Turkey - is around 1.97 million soldiers, a figure that far exceeds that recorded by the United States (1.32 million) and Russia (1.13 million), but is quite far behind that of China, which exceeds . Furthermore, European countries have security forces, such as gendarmes or the Civil Guard, larger than the US, and which total 666,000 more troops. China and Russia, on the other hand, remain at around half a million.

In quantitative terms, Europe is also the region with the most tanks. European countries have 7,142, more than double the US powerhouse, which has 2,640, and Vladimir Putin's regime, which has 2,730. However, China is closer to the European figure, reaching 4,700.

At sea, the battle is more even. Although Europe wins by a landslide in frigates—it has 103, China 50, the US 26, and Russia 20—it loses when it comes to aircraft carriers: the US military has 11, more than double the European military, which totals only four. In contrast, China has only two, and the Russian regime one. Regarding submarines, the numbers are more even. European states total 74, the United States 64, China 59, and Russia 51.

The differences between regions are similar in terms of air capability. Thus, European powers currently have more than 2,000 combat aircraft in service, while the United States, like China, has less than 1,500. Russian troops have an even lower number, with just over 1,200 combat aircraft in service.

The balance is especially unbalanced when looking at the deterrent force of each power. According to the SIPRI report, Russia is the country with the most warheads, up to 4,380 (1,710 deployed and 2,670 stored). It is close behind the United States, which has more deployed (1,770) but fewer stored: 1,938. In total, it has slightly fewer warheads than the Putin regime, standing at 3,708. France, on the other hand, has 290 and the United Kingdom 225.

More military spending

European states have steadily increased their military spending since the start of the war in Ukraine and plan to further accelerate the pace of defense spending in the coming years. However, for now, they continue to spend more money than all European Union member states and the United Kingdom. According to the same study, conducted by the prestigious International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), Russia allocates up to €445 billion and European allies €419 billion. However, as NATO itself indicates, the United States continues to far exceed these figures: it contributes more than half of NATO's budget and spends €700 billion annually.

However, more and more European allies have already reached the minimum imposed by NATO, which controls de facto The Pentagon has set a target of spending at least 2% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defense. At this point, only eight NATO states remain that have not met this goal. Spain, for example, is still far behind, at 1.28%, but there are countries, such as Germany, the largest country in Europe, that have already surpassed it. Furthermore, NATO is increasing the pressure on its European allies, and it is expected that at the next NATO summit in June, an agreement will be reached to raise this minimum rate of military spending on GDP to at least 3% or 3.5%.

All that's missing

Europe, in various arms sectors, is more powerful than the United States, China, or Russia, which is currently its main threat. However, it is important to remember that European states do not always move in the same direction—these studies, for example, include Turkey or countries close to the Kremlin—nor do they have the level of coordination that the US, Chinese, or Russian militaries possess. It is in this context that, beyond the increase in military spending, European leaders are also discussing ways to unite their military capabilities.

Without going any further, French President Emmanuel Macron has already opened the door to share the French nuclear force with the rest of the European allies, and thus find an alternative to the deterrent power that the United States has provided in Europe since World War II. Some countries, such as Poland and Lithuania, have enthusiastically welcomed Paris's offer, but others, such as Germany, have been more cautious and are urging not to renounce the military umbrella provided by Washington, and that, in any case, the nuclear protection that France or the United Kingdom can provide to the continent as a whole should reinforce that of the United States.

On the other hand, Von der Leyen has proposed the creation of new Eurobonds in the form of loans so that member states can increase their capacity in a coordinated manner within the EU and jointly purchase weapons. In fact, last year, the European Commission announced the injection of some 1.5 billion euros into the arms industry, but these figures are paltry compared to the the 800 billion euros that Brussels intends to mobilize now with the new rearmament sheet.

In any case, in a recent study by the think tank Bruegel and the Kiel Institute for the World Economy emphasize the desirability of greater military coordination if Europe wants to increase its defense capacity more efficiently, and compare it to the US military. "The combat power of US soldiers is substantially greater than the equivalent number of European troops distributed across 29 national armies," the report notes. For this reason, these two prestigious research centers advocate increasing military spending and, at the same time, uniting forces among European allies once and for all.