Rank #31 · Asia-Pacific
Pakistan fields the world's sixth-largest standing army and an estimated 170 nuclear warheads, sustaining one of South Asia's most significant military establishments on an economy under IMF austerity. A brief but intense aerial exchange with India in May 2025 — involving JF-17s, J-10CEs, and Rafales — was the most serious India-Pakistan confrontation in two decades, triggering a 20% emergency budget increase and renewed attention on Pakistan's Chinese-supplied air and missile inventory.
The FY2024-25 official defence allocation was PKR 2.13 trillion (~$7.6B at the prevailing exchange rate), representing 1.97% of GDP. Following the May 2025 air-and-missile exchange with India, the government approved a 20% emergency increase — described as "the largest in a decade" — bringing the annualised figure to PKR 2.55 trillion (~$9.1B). Salaries and pensions consume the largest share; capital procurement and modernisation account for roughly 20-25% of the total. Economic constraints are severe: Pakistan is under an IMF Extended Fund Facility, inflation has remained elevated, and education and health receive 2% and 1.3% of GDP respectively. Defence spending crowds out civilian investment while the country depends on external balance-of-payments support.
The Pakistan Army (560,000 active) is the dominant service and political institution, operating a corps-based structure with nine strike and defensive corps. The Pakistan Air Force (70,000) fields a modernised mixed fleet: JF-17 Thunder (China co-produced, ~150+ operational across Block 1/2/3) as the primary multirole platform; 75+ F-16A/B/C/D for beyond-visual-range combat; and 20+ J-10CE acquired from China in 2022, fielding PL-15 active-radar missiles. The Pakistan Navy (30,000) operates the Agosta 90B submarine fleet, with four Type-054A/P frigates under construction in China. Babur land-attack cruise missiles and Shaheen ballistic missiles form the conventional and nuclear strike backbone. The Strategic Plans Division Force (25,000) controls the nuclear arsenal separately from the services.
Pakistan's defence industrial base is significant for a lower-middle-income economy but heavily dependent on Chinese technology transfer. Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) co-produces 58% of the JF-17 airframe domestically and has a declared capacity of 20 aircraft per year. Heavy Industries Taxila produces Al-Khalid and Al-Zarrar main battle tanks under Chinese licence. Pakistan Ordnance Factories cover small arms, artillery ammunition, and rocket motors. NESCOM (National Engineering & Scientific Commission) oversees the Shaheen, Ghauri, and Babur missile families. Arms exports remain modest — mostly JF-17 and Al-Khalid pitches to Turkey, Malaysia, and African customers — but China-linked technology transfer gives Pakistan capabilities well above its GDP bracket.
Pakistan faces concurrent internal and external pressures. Domestically, counter-insurgency operations in FATA/KP against Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — which increased cross-border attacks from Afghan territory in 2024-2025 — consume army resources and cause casualties. The India axis remains the existential planning scenario: both countries are nuclear-armed, the Line of Control in Kashmir sees periodic violence, and the May 2025 aerial exchange marked the first confirmed combat use of Chinese-supplied J-10CE and PL-15 missiles in a real conflict. Pakistan brokered the US-Iran ceasefire on April 8, 2026, signalling a diplomatic role that provides some geopolitical cover but also highlights Pakistan's complex great-power positioning between China, the US, and Gulf states.
The May 2025 India-Pakistan conflict (Operation Sindoor on the Indian side) was the most intense confrontation since Kargil 1999: Pakistan's J-10CE aircraft and PL-15 missiles reportedly downed several Indian Rafales, while Indian BrahMos and Scalp strikes hit Pakistani airbases. A ceasefire was brokered within 96 hours under US pressure. Pakistan's June 2025 emergency defence budget (+20%) followed. On April 8, 2026, Pakistan's Foreign Minister played a lead role in negotiating the US-Iran ceasefire that ended Operation Epic Fury — a significant diplomatic coup. SIPRI's April 2026 release estimated Pakistan's 2025 spend at approximately $10.2B, ranking it 31st globally.
Pakistan's defence spending is estimated at ~$10.2 billion for 2025 by SIPRI, ranking it 31st globally. The official FY2024-25 allocation was ~$7.6B (PKR 2.13 trillion), but a 20% emergency increase following the May 2025 India-Pakistan conflict brought the total to approximately $9.1B in annualised terms, with SIPRI capturing supplemental outlays in its full-year figure.
Yes. Pakistan is estimated by the Federation of American Scientists to hold approximately 170 nuclear warheads (2025), all in central storage with none deployed operationally. Pakistan's doctrine of "full spectrum deterrence" explicitly rejects no-first-use, reflecting the conventional asymmetry with India. Delivery systems include land-based Shaheen and Ghauri ballistic missiles, air-delivered bombs via Mirage aircraft, and the sea-based Babur-III cruise missile under development.
Following a terrorist attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, India launched Operation Sindoor — strikes on Pakistani territory. Pakistan responded with air sorties involving JF-17 Thunder and J-10CE fighters. The exchange reportedly produced the first combat use of Chinese PL-15 extended-range air-to-air missiles. A ceasefire was brokered within 96 hours under US mediation, but Pakistan subsequently increased its defence budget by 20%.
The PAF's primary platforms are the JF-17 Thunder (co-produced with China, 150+ aircraft across Block 1/2/3) and the F-16 Fighting Falcon (75+ aircraft). The J-10CE — 20+ acquired from China in 2022 — is the most capable air-superiority platform, carrying the PL-15 active-radar missile with a range exceeding 200km. The Block 3 JF-17 also carries the PL-15.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister was a key interlocutor in the negotiations that produced the April 8, 2026 ceasefire ending Operation Epic Fury (the US-Iran war begun February 28, 2026). Pakistan leveraged its relationships with both Iran (shared border, historical ties) and the United States (CENTCOM basing arrangements, F-16 relationship) to facilitate back-channel communications, a significant diplomatic intervention for a country simultaneously managing IMF austerity and post-conflict tensions with India.