Head to head · SD Strength Index
Iran vs United Arab Emirates Military Power 2026 Compared
on 4 of 7 areas
| 15 | Air powercounts for 24% | 20 | ||
| 50 | Missiles & strikecounts for 15% | 6 | ||
| 17 | Air & missile defencecounts for 14% | 33 | ||
| 18 | Sea powercounts for 13% | 16 | ||
| 41 | Land forcescounts for 10% | 36 | ||
| 62 | Manpowercounts for 6% | 24 | ||
| 13 | Budget & industrycounts for 18% | 20 |
Key figures
| Iran | United Arab Emirates | |
|---|---|---|
| Defence budget ($bn) | 7.4–25 | 22–27.2 |
| Active personnel | 520k–610k | 60k–65k |
| Reserves | 350k | — |
| Combat aircraft | 100–250 | 135–150 |
| Fifth-generation fighters | 0 | 0 |
| Attack helicopters | 10–50 | 28–30 |
| Main battle tanks | 1,300–1,900 | 340–380 |
| Aircraft carriers | 0 | 0 |
| Submarines | 10–21 | 0 |
| Naval fleet | 80–260 | 75 |
| Ballistic missiles | 1,000–2,500 | — |
| Missile range (km) | 2,000 | 290–300 |
| Long-range air-defence batteries | 2–8 | 11–14 |
| Nuclear warheads | 0 | 0 |
Branch by branch
| Air power Advantage: United Arab Emirates | Iran. An estimated 60 to 150 ageing F-14, F-4, MiG-29 and Su-24 jets. A first batch of Su-35s was reported in mid-2026 but has not been confirmed. | United Arab Emirates. About 78 F-16E/F Block 60s and an estimated 50 to 66 Mirage 2000-9s, with five A330 MRTT tankers and four or five GlobalEye radar jets. None of 80 Rafale F4s ordered has arrived. |
| Missiles Advantage: Iran | Iran. An estimated 1,000 to 2,500 ballistic missiles and 120 to 330 mobile launchers, with a declared maximum range of 2,000 km. | United Arab Emirates. ATACMS and Black Shaheen, with a reach of about 300 km. No long range ballistic missiles. |
| Air and missile defence Advantage: United Arab Emirates | Iran. An estimated two to eight long range batteries left of the S-300PMU2 and Bavar-373 force. The US says the network was 85 to 90 per cent degraded in March 2026. | United Arab Emirates. Two THAAD batteries, about nine Patriot fire units, two or three Korean Cheongung-II batteries and an estimated 40 to 50 Pantsir-S1s, all used heavily in 2026. |
| Land forces Advantage: Iran | Iran. An estimated 1,300 to 1,900 tanks, including 400 to 700 T-72S and Karrar, and some 1,400 rocket launchers. | United Arab Emirates. An estimated 340 to 380 Leclerc tanks and 400 to 700 locally built Rabdan 8x8 vehicles. |
| Naval Advantage: United Arab Emirates | Iran. No blue-water surface warship reported left after the frigate Dena and a Kilo submarine were sunk in March 2026. An estimated 100 to 300 fast attack craft and 11 to 20 Ghadir midget submarines remain. | United Arab Emirates. Six Baynunah and four Gowind corvettes in a fleet of around 75, but no submarines. |
| Manpower Advantage: Iran | Iran. An estimated 520,000 to 610,000 active troops, 350,000 reservists and about 90,000 active Basij, from a population of 91.5 million. | United Arab Emirates. About 63,000 active troops from a population of 11 million. |
| Defence industry Advantage: Iran | Iran. Builds its own ballistic and cruise missiles, Shahed drones, Bavar-373 air defences and Karrar tanks. Plants were hit in 2025 and 2026, and missile output reportedly resumed at lower volume. | United Arab Emirates. EDGE Group makes Al Tariq guided bombs, loitering munitions, drones and Rabdan vehicles, but no fighters or major missile defence systems. |
| Spending and alliances Advantage: United Arab Emirates | Iran. An official 2025 budget of about $7.4bn, with total estimates of $15bn to $25bn once off-budget spending is counted. No defence treaty, and a US naval blockade since mid-April 2026. | United Arab Emirates. An estimated $22bn to $27bn, never published. A US Major Defence Partner since 2024, hosting US forces at Al Dhafra and a French base in Abu Dhabi. |
If it came to war
| Scenario | Short war | Long war |
|---|---|---|
| An Iranian missile and drone barrage on Emirati cities and oil sites | United Arab Emirates The UAE's THAAD, Patriot and Cheongung-II layers engaged 457 ballistic missiles, 19 cruise missiles and 2,038 drones by 2 April 2026, the UAE says. | Iran An estimated half to 80 per cent of PAC-3 stocks went in 2026, and Iran restarted drone production during the ceasefire. Over months, Iran's cheaper drones would outlast the UAE's supply of interceptors. |
| A fight over the Strait of Hormuz | Iran Iranian mines, fast attack craft and Ghadir midget submarines can close the strait, as happened in 2026. | United Arab Emirates Emirati F-16s, Apaches and corvettes, with US aircraft flying from Al Dhafra, can hunt small boats that have no air cover left. |
Which military is stronger, Iran's or the UAE's?
Iran's military is stronger, mainly on size. Iran has about 91.5 million people to the UAE's 11 million, and an estimated 520,000 to 610,000 active troops split between the regular army, the Artesh, and the Revolutionary Guard. The UAE has about 63,000. Iran also fields an estimated 1,600 tanks and 1,400 rocket launchers, and a ballistic missile force that came through the 2026 war in better shape than any other Iranian branch.
The UAE is ahead in almost everything that flies. Its F-16E/F Block 60s, Mirage 2000-9s, GlobalEye radar jets and A330 tankers are a generation newer than Iran's F-14s and F-4s. Its THAAD and Patriot batteries are intact, while Iran's air defences were 85 to 90 per cent degraded in March 2026, the US says. Those advantages protect the Emirates, while a force of 63,000 has little means of threatening Iran itself.
How strong is the UAE military?
The UAE has one of the best equipped forces in the Gulf for its size. Silent Dossier estimates its unpublished defence budget at $22bn to $27bn, enough to buy American, French, Korean and Israeli systems side by side. The air force flies about 78 F-16E/F Block 60s and an estimated 50 to 66 Mirage 2000-9s, kept in service in February 2026 when a planned transfer of 30 jets to Morocco was postponed. Five A330 MRTT tankers and four or five GlobalEye early warning jets let them operate at range.
Its weaknesses are numbers and dependence on foreign suppliers. None of the 80 Rafale F4s ordered in 2021 has reached the country, and the first handover is due at the end of 2026. EDGE Group builds guided bombs, loitering munitions and armoured vehicles, but the UAE has no fighter or major missile defence production line, and its maintenance relies on foreign contractors.
What did the 2026 war show?
The UAE kept its defences working through a long missile war. The UAE says it detected 137 ballistic missiles on the first day, 28 February, and had engaged 457 ballistic missiles, 19 cruise missiles and 2,038 drones by 2 April, more than any other Gulf state. It stopped publishing intercept and impact figures on 10 March. In May an Iranian strike set fire to the Fujairah oil zone.
It paid for that in interceptors. Estimates of the share of Emirati PAC-3 missiles used run from about half to 80 per cent. South Korea airlifted about 30 Cheongung-II interceptors in March and flew in a third battery by C-17 in June, about six months early. Washington approved an emergency package of about $8.4bn on 19 March, including up to 400 AIM-120 air to air missiles. Iran lost its surface navy, at least one Kilo submarine and most of its air defence network before the ceasefire of 8 April.
Can Iran rebuild what it lost?
Iran has rebuilt part of its missile force. Ballistic missile production reportedly resumed underground at lower volume by September 2026, and Shahed drone production restarted during the ceasefire. Tunnels at bombed missile bases were reopened within weeks. A US naval blockade limits imports, and the rebuilding depends on propellant chemicals reportedly shipped from China, which Beijing denies.
Aircraft and air defences are slower. A first batch of Russian Su-35s was reported complete in July or August 2026, but none has been confirmed in Iranian service. Russian Verba shoulder-fired missiles, 500 launchers and 2,500 rounds, are due from 2027 to 2029, and talk of Chinese HQ-9B batteries is unverified. The UAE expects Rafale deliveries from the end of 2026 to 2031 and signed a term sheet with Hanwha in September 2026 covering L-SAM, more M-SAM and Chunmoo rockets.
Could the UAE strike Iran?
The UAE can strike Iran only in a limited way. Its longest reach is about 300 km, with ATACMS and Black Shaheen missiles, and it has no bombers. It does fly armed Wing Loong and Akinci drones. Around April 2026 a Wing Loong II was shot down over Shiraz, and Iran demanded answers from the UAE and Saudi Arabia; whose drone it was has not been confirmed. Iran's missiles, with a declared range of up to 2,000 km, can reach anywhere in the Emirates.
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Questions readers ask
Who would win a war between Iran and the UAE?
Iran, if the two fought alone, because the UAE cannot strike back at scale. Emirati defences engaged 457 ballistic missiles and 2,038 drones by 2 April 2026, the UAE says, but the Emirates have about 63,000 troops and no missile reaching beyond about 300 km.
Are the UAE and Iran allies?
No. The UAE has been a US Major Defence Partner since 2024 and hosts US forces at Al Dhafra. It was the most targeted Gulf state in Iran's 2026 missile and drone attacks. Iran has no defence treaty with anyone; it signed a strategic partnership with Russia in 2025.
Does the UAE have F-35s?
No. A 2020 package of 50 F-35As, MQ-9B drones and munitions worth about $23.4bn lapsed after the UAE suspended talks in December 2021. Its next fighters are 80 Rafale F4s, none of them in the country yet. Iran has no stealth fighters either.
How many troops does Iran have compared with the UAE?
Silent Dossier estimates Iran has 520,000 to 610,000 active troops, 350,000 reservists and about 90,000 active Basij. The UAE has about 63,000 active troops.
Who spends more on defence, Iran or the UAE?
The UAE, on most estimates. Silent Dossier puts its unpublished budget at $22bn to $27bn. Iran's official 2025 budget was about $7.4bn; counting Revolutionary Guard and proxy spending outside the budget, estimates of the total run from $15bn to $25bn.