Fears of a potential future war with Russia have placed attention on the size of the British military with concerns the army, airforce and navy have grown too small.

It came as remarks by General Sir Patrick Sanders, the outgoing Chief of the General Staff (CGS) were seen as suggesting that conscription could be required to boost the British military.

Sir Patrick, in a speech at the International Armoured Vehicles conference in south-west London, said Britain should “train and equip” a “citizen army” to ready the country for a potential land war.

Below we explore the Russian military shapes up against the British army and Royal Navy.

Russia‘s massive manpower reserves are considerably larger than the UK’s with the British Army able to call on 75,983 active and 26,546 reserve.

Meanwhile, the Russian Army can rely on 3.57million military personnel, with 1.32 million active soldiers and two million reserve.

However, in the event of armed conflict, the UK would be able to call upon other NATO member states meaning the British Army would not be going in alone.

Despite heavy attrition in the war in Ukraine, Russia continues to command thousands of tanks and armoured vehicles.

According to GlobalFirePower.com, Russia holds around 14,777 tanks, 161,382 vehicles, and 17,629 artillery pieces, including self-propelled, towed and rocket. The UK lags somewhat with 213 tanks, 27,203 vehicles, and 238 artillery pieces.

The quality of equipment here could prove something of a levelling in combat as Russia is known to have stockpiled old Soviet armour that may not perform well on the modern battlefield.

Both Russia and the UK have a proud naval tradition with the Royal Navy able to field 117 vessels total, including two aircraft carriers, six destroyers, 11 frigates and 10 submarines.

Russow on the other hand can send out 781 vessels in total with 14 destroyers, 12 frigates and 65 submarines but only operates one aircraft carrier.

In terms of airpower, Russia also holds an advantage with h 809 fighter jets, 145 special-mission aircraft and 1,547 helicopters.

Meanwhile, the Royal Air Force can muster 120 fighter jets, 26 special-mission and 276 helicopters.

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, who has previously backed defence spending rising to 3 percent of gross domestic product – a measure of the size of the economy – last week said it was currently below the target of 2.5 percent.

In comments posted on X, Mr Heappey said the UK Government was currently, at £50 billion per year, investing “more than we’ve ever spent before”.

He argued that UK forces, as part of NATO’s defensive alliance, were “overwhelmingly superior to Russia‘s”.