20 Countries With the Largest Artillery Arsenals

So far, Ukraine has used artillery fire to great effect to defend against the invading Russian troops. Many of the artillery Ukrainian troops have used have been American-made. The U.S. has supplied Ukraine with 155 howitzers and longer-range artillery, among other kinds, which have been a game changer for Ukraine, CNBC reports.

Russian troops, meanwhile, also use artillery such as howitzers to great effect, firing thousands of shells at Ukrainian targets daily, as Russia has reintroduced its essential military doctrine: the use of massed heavy and rocket artillery. But how much artillery does each nation have?

To determine the countries with the most artillery, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed 2023 data on artillery from GlobalFirepower, an annually updated defense-related statistics website with information on 145 countries. We ranked countries according to the number of self-propelled and towed artillery they have and listed all countries with at least 700 artillery units. 

Russia has more artillery than any other country. While U.S. doctrine emphasizes more accurate use of high explosives, Russian doctrine stresses massed firepower. This has been an aspect of Russian military doctrine for at least 300 years. Russia has invested heavily in artillery in recent years and holds a more than fivefold advantage in total artillery over Ukraine. According to a CNN report from January, however, Russian artillery fire is down dramatically from its high. (See also, America’s future weapons.)

The war between North and South Korea has not officially been declared over, and their artillery inventory reflects that status. The two Koreas face each other with a combined 18,766 artillery pieces. (This is the deadliest weapon in history.)

America, which spends more on the military than any other country, ranks 11th in artillery pieces. Two of the mainstays in the U.S. artillery arsenal are the M109 howitzer and the M777 howitzer.

Click here to see 20 countries with the largest artillery arsenals.

Click here to see our detailed methodology.

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