A guided missile destroyer is a warship equipped with guns, specialized weapons, guided missiles, and long-range sonar. Many of these destroyers can be used to combat aircraft, submarines, and ground forces. Countries with powerful naval forces use destroyers to maintain their naval power. But some countries can boast a much larger fleet of them than others. (Also see the submarines and underwater military tech that make up the Navy’s hidden arsenal.)
To identify the countries with the most guided-missile destroyers, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed 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 destroyer-class ships in their fleet. We included supplemental information regarding the total naval vessels, submarines, as well as each country’s overall military strength score.
Why Are We Covering This?
Guided-missile destroyers are important in maintaining naval superiority and security on the world stage. Their roles in air defense, surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and humanitarian missions highlight this importance and underscore their versatility. The amount of guided-missile destroyers a country has suggests its naval power and overall military presence, as well as how two countries might fare if facing each other in battle.
Learn about the countries with the most guided-missile destroyers:
14. Pakistan
- Total destroyers: 2
- Total naval vessels: 114
- Total submarines: 8
- Total corvettes: 2
- Military strength score: 0.1711 – #9 out of 145
13. Australia
- Total destroyers: 3
- Total naval vessels: 43
- Total submarines: 6
- Total corvettes: 0
- Military strength score: 0.2515 – #16 out of 145
12. Argentina
- Total destroyers: 4
- Total naval vessels: 41
- Total submarines: 2
- Total corvettes: 9
- Military strength score: 0.3823 – #28 out of 145
11. Taiwan
- Total destroyers: 4
- Total naval vessels: 93
- Total submarines: 4
- Total corvettes: 2
- Military strength score: 0.3302 – #24 out of 145
10. Italy
- Total destroyers: 4
- Total naval vessels: 309
- Total submarines: 8
- Total corvettes: 0
- Military strength score: 0.1863 – #10 out of 145
9. Mexico
- Total destroyers: 5
- Total naval vessels: 194
- Total submarines: 0
- Total corvettes: 4
- Military strength score: 0.4274 – #31 out of 145
8. United Kingdom
- Total destroyers: 6
- Total naval vessels: 117
- Total submarines: 10
- Total corvettes: 0
- Military strength score: 0.1443 – #6 out of 145
7. France
- Total destroyers: 10
- Total naval vessels: 128
- Total submarines: 9
- Total corvettes: 0
- Military strength score: 0.1878 – #11 out of 145
6. India
- Total destroyers: 12
- Total naval vessels: 294
- Total submarines: 18
- Total corvettes: 18
- Military strength score: 0.1023 – #4 out of 145
5. South Korea
- Total destroyers: 13
- Total naval vessels: 200
- Total submarines: 22
- Total corvettes: 5
- Military strength score: 0.1416 – #5 out of 145
4. Russia
- Total destroyers: 14
- Total naval vessels: 781
- Total submarines: 65
- Total corvettes: 83
- Military strength score: 0.0702 – #2 out of 145
3. Japan
- Total destroyers: 36
- Total naval vessels: 155
- Total submarines: 23
- Total corvettes: 6
- Military strength score: 0.1601 – #7 out of 145
2. China
- Total destroyers: 49
- Total naval vessels: 730
- Total submarines: 61
- Total corvettes: 72
- Military strength score: 0.0706 – #3 out of 145
1. United States
- Total destroyers: 75
- Total naval vessels: 472
- Total submarines: 64
- Total corvettes: 23
- Military strength score: 0.0699 – #1 out of 145
Top Gaining Stocks
Top Losing Stocks