Artillery units have advanced significantly since World War II. Some of the newest artillery units are self-propelled and incredibly mobile, but not all militaries have access to the newest technology. In fact, many still use tried-and-tested towed artillery. Even modern militaries still rely on these and have a complement of these assets that support their troops on the ground. (This is the U.S. Army’s longest range artillery weapons, ranked.)
Having a massive stock of artillery does not necessarily determine a country’s overall military strength in any given conflict, but it does help significantly in conflicts that are fought on the ground with troops.
Here, 24/7 Wall St. is taking a closer look at countries with large arsenals of artillery. To identify the countries with the most towed artillery, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 2024 Military Strength Ranking from Global Firepower, an annually updated defense-related statistics website with information on 145 countries. Countries were ranked on the total number of towed artillery in their arsenal. We included supplemental information regarding the total military vehicles, tanks and MLRS units, as well as each country’s overall military strength score.
The Russian military is home to the largest artillery arsenal in the world. This comprises over 14,000 towed and self-propelled units. In addition to these artillery units, Russia also has the largest tank army in the world with nearly 15,000 tanks at its disposal. For the Red Army it makes sense to have some of the largest ground forces on the planet, as Russia is the largest country in the world by square mileage, with at least one not-too-friendly neighbor. (These are the NATO countries with the most artillery firepower.)
Here is a look at the countries with the most towed artillery units:
Why Are We Covering This?
Source: ajw1970 / Flickr
Artillery is important in modern warfare because of the firepower that it implies. While these units are not as mobile as self-propelled artillery units, they are still capable of laying down serious fire from a distance. Many countries have invested heavily in these units and understanding which countries have the most gives further context to modern military strategy.
30. Bangladesh
Source: usarmyeurope_images / Flickr
- Towed artillery: 437
- Self-propelled artillery: 27
- Total artillery: 464
- Total military vehicles: 13,100
- Total tanks: 320
- Total MLRS: 71
- Military strength score: 0.5419 – #37 – out of 145
29. Kazakhstan
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Towed artillery: 450
- Self-propelled artillery: 246
- Total artillery: 696
- Total military vehicles: 6,012
- Total tanks: 300
- Total MLRS: 407
- Military strength score: 0.9495 – #58 – out of 145
28. Turkmenistan
Source: irontrybex / iStock via Getty Images
- Towed artillery: 457
- Self-propelled artillery: 73
- Total artillery: 530
- Total military vehicles: 8,312
- Total tanks: 680
- Total MLRS: 160
- Military strength score: 1.4906 – #83 – out of 145
27. Brazil
Source: Maurizio Fabbroni / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Towed artillery: 460
- Self-propelled artillery: 172
- Total artillery: 632
- Total military vehicles: 44,044
- Total tanks: 469
- Total MLRS: 78
- Military strength score: 0.1944 – #12 – out of 145
26. Japan
Source: petesphotography / iStock via Getty Images
- Towed artillery: 480
- Self-propelled artillery: 173
- Total artillery: 653
- Total military vehicles: 37,662
- Total tanks: 518
- Total MLRS: 54
- Military strength score: 0.1601 – #7 – out of 145
25. Algeria
Source: DancingMan / iStock via Getty Images
- Towed artillery: 483
- Self-propelled artillery: 224
- Total artillery: 707
- Total military vehicles: 35,990
- Total tanks: 1,632
- Total MLRS: 236
- Military strength score: 0.3589 – #26 – out of 145
24. Angola
Source: mauriziobiso / iStock via Getty Images
- Towed artillery: 552
- Self-propelled artillery: 28
- Total artillery: 580
- Total military vehicles: 5,500
- Total tanks: 310
- Total MLRS: 123
- Military strength score: 0.8702 – #55 – out of 145
23. Bosnia and Herzegovina
Source: Hulton Archive / Hulton Archive via Getty Images
- Towed artillery: 580
- Self-propelled artillery: 10
- Total artillery: 590
- Total military vehicles: 450
- Total tanks: 91
- Total MLRS: 79
- Military strength score: 2.3996 – #116 – out of 145
22. Thailand
Source: soldiersmediacenter / Flickr
- Towed artillery: 589
- Self-propelled artillery: 50
- Total artillery: 639
- Total military vehicles: 14,040
- Total tanks: 648
- Total MLRS: 26
- Military strength score: 0.3389 – #25 – out of 145
21. Ethiopia
Source: Photo by Andrew Burton / Getty Images
- Towed artillery: 648
- Self-propelled artillery: 65
- Total artillery: 713
- Total military vehicles: 10,028
- Total tanks: 680
- Total MLRS: 79
- Military strength score: 0.7938 – #49 – out of 145
20. Finland
Source: Anton Petrus / Moment via Getty Images
- Towed artillery: 667
- Self-propelled artillery: 125
- Total artillery: 792
- Total military vehicles: 11,716
- Total tanks: 200
- Total MLRS: 76
- Military strength score: 0.7967 – #50 – out of 145
19. Vietnam
Source: Paul Biris / Moment via Getty Images
- Towed artillery: 700
- Self-propelled artillery: 180
- Total artillery: 880
- Total military vehicles: 18,578
- Total tanks: 2,029
- Total MLRS: 450
- Military strength score: 0.3158 – #22 – out of 145
18. Romania
Source: usarmyeurope_images / Flickr
- Towed artillery: 720
- Self-propelled artillery: 0
- Total artillery: 720
- Total military vehicles: 9,990
- Total tanks: 345
- Total MLRS: 225
- Military strength score: 0.7712 – #47 – out of 145
17. Greece
Source: The Joint Multinational Training Command Public Affairs Office from Grafenwoehr, Germany / Wikimedia Commons
- Towed artillery: 729
- Self-propelled artillery: 589
- Total artillery: 1,318
- Total military vehicles: 57,030
- Total tanks: 1,365
- Total MLRS: 152
- Military strength score: 0.4349 – #32 – out of 145
16. Ukraine
Source: 3DSculptor / iStock via Getty Images
- Towed artillery: 1,012
- Self-propelled artillery: 1,205
- Total artillery: 2,217
- Total military vehicles: 22,110
- Total tanks: 1,777
- Total MLRS: 491
- Military strength score: 0.2598 – #18 – out of 145
15. Taiwan
- Towed artillery: 1,120
- Self-propelled artillery: 300
- Total artillery: 1,420
- Total military vehicles: 19,868
- Total tanks: 1,010
- Total MLRS: 223
- Military strength score: 0.3302 – #24 – out of 145
14. United States
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Towed artillery: 1,267
- Self-propelled artillery: 1,595
- Total artillery: 2,862
- Total military vehicles: 360,069
- Total tanks: 4,657
- Total MLRS: 694
- Military strength score: 0.0699 – #1 – out of 145
13. China
Source: Anton Petrus / Moment via Getty Images
- Towed artillery: 1,434
- Self-propelled artillery: 3,850
- Total artillery: 5,284
- Total military vehicles: 174,300
- Total tanks: 5,000
- Total MLRS: 3,180
- Military strength score: 0.0706 – #3 – out of 145
12. Iraq
Source: 39955793@N07 / Flickr
- Towed artillery: 1,446
- Self-propelled artillery: 281
- Total artillery: 1,727
- Total military vehicles: 39,872
- Total tanks: 848
- Total MLRS: 425
- Military strength score: 0.7441 – #45 – out of 145
11. Egypt
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Towed artillery: 1,557
- Self-propelled artillery: 1,489
- Total artillery: 3,046
- Total military vehicles: 77,596
- Total tanks: 5,340
- Total MLRS: 1,119
- Military strength score: 0.2283 – #15 – out of 145
10. Turkey
Source: M-A-U / iStock via Getty Images
- Towed artillery: 1,747
- Self-propelled artillery: 1,038
- Total artillery: 2,785
- Total military vehicles: 55,104
- Total tanks: 2,231
- Total MLRS: 286
- Military strength score: 0.1697 – #8 – out of 145
9. Myanmar
Source: Goldquest / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Towed artillery: 1,868
- Self-propelled artillery: 215
- Total artillery: 2,083
- Total military vehicles: 8,139
- Total tanks: 705
- Total MLRS: 586
- Military strength score: 0.5251 – #35 – out of 145
8. Saudi Arabia
- Towed artillery: 2,017
- Self-propelled artillery: 1,236
- Total artillery: 3,253
- Total military vehicles: 20,694
- Total tanks: 1,485
- Total MLRS: 490
- Military strength score: 0.3235 – #23 – out of 145
7. Iran
Source: FarzadFrames / iStock via Getty Images
- Towed artillery: 2,050
- Self-propelled artillery: 580
- Total artillery: 2,630
- Total military vehicles: 65,765
- Total tanks: 1,996
- Total MLRS: 775
- Military strength score: 0.2269 – #14 – out of 145
6. Syria
Source: Chris McGrath / Getty Images
- Towed artillery: 2,400
- Self-propelled artillery: 295
- Total artillery: 2,695
- Total military vehicles: 14,550
- Total tanks: 2,720
- Total MLRS: 614
- Military strength score: 1.0026 – #60 – out of 145
5. Pakistan
Source: quinet / Flickr
- Towed artillery: 3,238
- Self-propelled artillery: 752
- Total artillery: 3,990
- Total military vehicles: 50,523
- Total tanks: 3,742
- Total MLRS: 602
- Military strength score: 0.1711 – #9 – out of 145
4. India
- Towed artillery: 3,243
- Self-propelled artillery: 140
- Total artillery: 3,383
- Total military vehicles: 151,248
- Total tanks: 4,614
- Total MLRS: 702
- Military strength score: 0.1023 – #4 – out of 145
3. North Korea
Source: Anton Petrus / Moment via Getty Images
- Towed artillery: 4,500
- Self-propelled artillery: 4,500
- Total artillery: 9,000
- Total military vehicles: 24,696
- Total tanks: 5,845
- Total MLRS: 2,920
- Military strength score: 0.5313 – #36 – out of 145
2. South Korea
Source: 101561334@N08 / Flickr
- Towed artillery: 4,863
- Self-propelled artillery: 3,189
- Total artillery: 8,052
- Total military vehicles: 66,492
- Total tanks: 2,501
- Total MLRS: 581
- Military strength score: 0.1416 – #5 – out of 145
1. Russia
- Towed artillery: 8,356
- Self-propelled artillery: 6,208
- Total artillery: 14,564
- Total military vehicles: 161,382
- Total tanks: 14,777
- Total MLRS: 3,065
- Military strength score: 0.0702 – #2 – out of 145
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