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Greece ranks first among NATO countries in Europe (excluding Turkey) in the number of main battle tanks, followed by Poland, Germany, Spain, Great Britain, France, Finland and Italy.
What military capabilities can European NATO countries rely on to defend the continent in the event of an attack? A special report by the renowned German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung compares the pillars on which the armed forces in Europe rely: soldiers, land, air and naval defense.
According to the ambitions of the new Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, the German armed forces should “become the strongest conventional army in Europe.” But the gap between aspirations and reality is very large. Because currently, the federal army is smaller than the Polish one, which in turn is smaller than the French one.
While Italian troops are inferior in number to German ones, but superior to British ones. Germany can currently rely on 182,000 soldiers on active duty and 62,000 reservists.
According to the plan, by 2031 there should be 203,000 troops in active service, while the aim is that together with the reservists the figure will reach a total of 460,000. A very high number, although still comparable to the period during the Cold War, when the Bundeswehr had 500,000 soldiers and 800,000 reservists.
France has the largest armed forces among European Union and NATO countries with around 202,000 troops. Poland, meanwhile, has the same number of soldiers on active duty while relying on 300,000 reservists.
According to Warsaw, the number of troops in active service will increase to 300,000 in the coming years, and starting in 2027, approximately 100,000 men and women should undergo voluntary military training each year.
Italy currently has 170,000 active soldiers, followed by the United Kingdom with 141,000, Greece with 132,000 and Spain with 122,000. However, the size of armies does not necessarily reflect the state of military capabilities.
Because for example, Greece is first among NATO countries in Europe (excluding Turkey) in the number of main battle tanks, followed by Poland, Germany, Spain, Great Britain, France, Finland and Italy.
Italy has half the tanks that Germany currently has, and Berlin, on the other hand, has only a quarter of those of Greece. Athens can count on over 1,300 tanks, mainly due to competition with neighboring Turkey (which has 2,378), including 170 specially built Leopard 2 models, and 183 Leopard 2A4 tanks.
To this arsenal should be added 500 old American Leopard 1 tanks and 375 M48s. According to the website Military Balance, Poland ranks second with 662 armored fighting vehicles, some of which are German-made (200 Leopard 2), some American (over 100 M1A1s) and some South Korean (71 K2 tanks).
Germany is third in the ranking, with 300 Leopard 2 tanks. By the end of this year, Berlin could have 209 Leopard 2A5/A6 and 104 Leopard 2A7v, the International Institute for Strategic Studies reports. And another 105 second-generation Leopard 2A8 tanks will be added to the German armed forces by 2030.
Spain comes right behind Germany with 274 Leopard 2 tanks. Then comes France with 200 Leclerc tanks and the United Kingdom with 213 Challenger 2 tanks, while Finland has 200 Leopard tanks (100 2A6 and 100 2A4). Meanwhile, Italy has over 150 Ariete tanks.
In terms of air defense, the country in the best position is France. The French Air Force has a total of 240 fighter jets, in addition to the 60 Navy aircraft. These are mainly various Mirage models, which they are trying to replace with the more modern Rafale (142 aircraft).
Greece comes in second, with 230 fighter jets, including 20 French Rafale jets, 32 Phantom F4 jets and 164 American F-16 jets. The German Air Force comes in third with 266 aircraft (not just fighter jets), including 138 Eurofighter jets and 93 Tornado jets.
Starting next year, these will be replaced by 35 American F-35 fighter jets and new Eurofighter jets. Italy ranks fifth after the UK, with 92 Eurofighter jets and 26 F-35 jets destined for future additions.
Leadership in terms of maritime defense still belongs to France, followed by Italy, Great Britain and Greece./ Adapted from "Pamphlet" by "La Stampa"
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