Army comparison: 
Cuba vs 
United States
United States's army fields 171,065 active vehicles — 37:1 Cuba's 4,636. Additionally, Cuba has 0 and United States has 12,800 vehicles in storage.
ARMS (Armour and Manpower Rating of Strength) Index face-off Full ranking →
CubaWorld #41
20.7
ARMS Index / 100
United States leads on 7 of 8 categories
United StatesWorld #1
100.0
Cuba
United States
Bars: weighted contribution to the ARMS Index (vehicles × category weight × era, active + 0.3 × stored; manpower and the rotary, armament and availability multipliers apply on top) · figures: active vehicles at each side's latest inventory year · Methodology
Key figures as of 2026
| Cuba | United States | Ratio | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total vehicles | 4,636 | 171,065 | 🇺🇸 37× |
| In storage | 0 | 12,800 | 🇺🇸 |
| On order | 0 | 12,602 | 🇺🇸 |
| Main battle tanks | 1,500 | 2,666 | 🇺🇸 1.8× |
| Artillery pieces | 1,690 | 4,930 | 🇺🇸 2.9× |
| Armoured fighting vehicles | 1,446 | 163,469 | 🇺🇸 113× |
| Active military personnel (all branches) | 49,000 | 1,326,050 | 🇺🇸 27× |
| Reserve military personnel (all branches) | 39,000 | 806,700 | 🇺🇸 21× |
Show full breakdown · 5 more rowsHide the 5 extra rows
| Infantry fighting vehicles | 200 | 7,724 | 🇺🇸 39× |
| Armoured personnel carriers | 756 | 5,026 | 🇺🇸 6.6× |
| Self-propelled artillery | 60 | 1,521 | 🇺🇸 25× |
| Towed artillery | 1,455 | 1,878 | 🇺🇸 1.3× |
| Rocket artillery | 175 | 1,531 | 🇺🇸 8.7× |
Backbone vehicles most numerous in service
Analyst Assessment
Verdict
Edge: United States
The United States army holds a decisive and comprehensive advantage over Cuba's ground forces, out-massing them roughly 37 to 1 in vehicles and 27 to 1 in active personnel while fielding modern M1 Abrams, Bradley and Stryker fleets against a Cuban inventory built almost entirely on 1950s-60s Soviet designs. Cuba's ground army retains a dense, defensively organised mass of T-54/55s and towed artillery on home terrain, but it has no meaningful procurement, no storage reserve and no capacity to contest a mechanised opponent in open manoeuvre.
Domain by domain
Armour
Edge: United States
🇨🇺 Cuba1,500 MBTs, but the backbone is 1,100 T-54/T-55/TM-800 and 400 T-62/TR-580, all Cold War-era hulls with limited fire control, optics and modern armour; some converted to static or mobile gun roles.
🇺🇸 United States2,666 MBTs, 2,640 of them M1 Abrams with composite armour, thermal sights and networked fire control, plus 12,800 vehicles in storage and 12,602 on order to sustain the fleet.
Artillery & rocket forces
Edge: United States
🇨🇺 Cuba1,690 tubes, but 1,455 are towed and largely obsolescent (ZiS-2, M-46, D-30, A-19); only 60 self-propelled 2S3 Akatsiya and 175 rocket launchers, mainly 145 BM-21 Grad. Minimal counter-battery or precision capability.
🇺🇸 United States4,930 pieces: 1,521 M109 Paladin SPGs (689 more on order), 991 M270 MLRS plus HIMARS-class rocket units, and 1,000 M777 towed howitzers, with precision-guided munitions and mature counter-battery networks.
Mechanised infantry
Edge: United States
🇨🇺 CubaRoughly 2,400 carriers: 200 BMP-1 IFVs and 750 APCs (BTR-60, BTR-50, BTR-152) of 1950s-60s vintage, plus 490 light vehicles including 250 2P26. Largely foot-mobile infantry with limited lift.
🇺🇸 United States163,469 armoured fighting vehicles, including 4,214 Stryker, 3,510 M2 Bradley, 4,700 M113 and about 148,882 light armoured vehicles (125,000 HMMWV, 12,500 JLTV, 5,651 M-ATV); AMPV and ISV entering service.
Reserves & mobilisation
Edge: United States
🇨🇺 Cuba49,000 active and 39,000 reserves, backed by a large territorial militia tradition and a doctrine built on dispersal, fortification and protracted resistance on familiar island terrain.
🇺🇸 United States1,326,050 active personnel and 806,700 reserves, including the Army National Guard, with a professional force structure sized for sustained multi-theatre deployment.
Sustainment & industry
Edge: United States
🇨🇺 CubaNo vehicles in storage and none on order; sustainment rests on cannibalisation and local refurbishment of Soviet-era stock, reflected in indigenous conversions such as the TM-800 and TR-580.
🇺🇸 United States12,800 vehicles in storage, 12,602 on order, and a domestic armoured-vehicle and munitions industrial base capable of continuous recapitalisation and expeditionary logistics.
Wildcards
- Island terrain and defensive depth Cuba's ground forces are configured for territorial defence on constrained island terrain, where dug-in armour, dense towed artillery and prepared positions raise the cost of any opposed entry far above a raw inventory comparison.
- Expeditionary reach US ground power depends on sealift, airlift and forward basing to arrive; the Cuban army fights from its own depots. Force ratios in any given theatre are set by lift capacity, not by total inventory.
- Combat experience gap US ground formations have rotated through two decades of sustained operations with mature combined-arms and logistics practice. Cuban ground forces have had no comparable large-scale mechanised operational experience in decades.
- Spare parts and readiness With zero units in storage or on order, Cuban readiness rates for T-54/55, BMP-1 and BTR fleets are constrained by parts availability; nominal inventory likely overstates the number of operational vehicles.
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Analysis generated by a language model from the figures on this page and public sources; it is an informed reading, not a military assessment or a prediction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which country has more armored vehicles, Cuba or United States?
United States has a larger ground force with 171,065 vehicles compared to Cuba's 4,636 vehicles.
Which country has more tanks, Cuba or United States?
United States operates more main battle tanks with 2,666 compared to Cuba's 1,500.
Which army has more infantry fighting vehicles, Cuba or United States?
United States has 7,724 infantry fighting vehicles compared to Cuba's 200.
Which country has more armored personnel carriers, Cuba or United States?
United States operates 5,026 APCs compared to Cuba's 756.
Which country has more artillery systems, Cuba or United States?
United States fields 4,930 artillery systems (self-propelled, towed, and MLRS) compared to Cuba's 1,690.
How do the Cuba and United States armies compare in size?
United States's army is 36.9 times larger than Cuba's in terms of total vehicles (171,065 vs 4,636).