RUSSIA'S enormous military is overwhelmingly superior to Britain in almost all facets of warfare, damning figures show.

A simple comparison shows Vladimir Putin's armed forces exceed ours in terms of troop numbers, aircraft, warships and nuclear warheads.

9 Russia has a military that easily surpasses Britain's, figures show

It comes as the head of the British Army warned that Russia could wage war on the West "sooner than we expect".

Speaking at the Royal United Services Institute, General Sir Nick Carter warned the Kremlin, in building an increasingly aggressive and expeditionary force, already boasts capabilities the UK would struggle to match.

He added that Britain needs to prepare to "fight the war we might have to fight" against Moscow.

Gen Carter said: "Our generation has become used to wars of choice since the end of the Cold War. But we may not have a choice about conflict with Russia."

9 This is how Britain compares to Russia in terms of troop numbers and reserves

9 The UK also lags behind Russia in terms of air power

Figures obtained from Global Firepower show Russia has an almost 800,000-strong standing army that dwarfs Britain's 150,000.

It boasts an airforce of nearly 3,800 tanks compared to the UK's 250, and has more than four times the number of warships.

While Britain, like Russia, is a nuclear power, Russia has some 7,000 warheads compared to our 215.

Gen Carter's warning comes as it emerged last month Russia had secretly practised a full-scale invasion of Europe that featured the mock capture of Baltic states, bombing raids on Germany and the invasion of neutral countries.

9 Russia has a vastly overwhelming number of tanks compared to Britain

9 It also has a much stronger navy

Gen Carter said when it comes to threats, it is important to recognise that "readiness is about speed of recognition, speed of decision-making and speed of assembly".

"Therefore we are actively examining the retention of our infrastructure in Germany, where we store our vehicles in Ayrshire Barracks in Rheindahlen, and our training facilities in Sennelager, as well as our heavy equipment transporters that are based there, and our stockpiling and ammunition storage."

Gen Carter also showed a Russian military propaganda video that detailed their vast equipment and ammunition.

9 The head of the British Army General Sir Nick Carter delivers a speech in London Credit: EPA

He said we have to accept the three-minute video is "information warfare at its best" and that it showed the Kremlin has an "eye watering quantity of capability".

Experts have also recently warned Vladimir Putin appears to be preparing for nuclear war as he invests heavily in decking out top-secret nuke bunkers throughout Moscow.

Gen Carter said "not in any way" does he want to suggest that Russia would go to war in the traditional sense, but that Moscow "could initiate hostilities sooner than we expect".

"I don't think it will start with little green men, it will start with something we don't expect. We should not take what we have seen so far as a template for the future.

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Gen Carter also stressed how the UK needs to "prepare ourselves to fight the war we might have to fight".

During his speech Gen Carter stressed that Britain "must take notice of what is going on around us" or that the ability by the UK to take action will be "massively constrained".

He said: "I believe our ability to pre-empt or respond to these threats will be eroded if we don't match up to them now.

"They represent a clear and present danger - they are not thousands of miles away they are now on Europe's doorstep and the character of warfare is making it much harder for us to recognise true intentions and thus distinguish between what is peace and what is war."

9 Multiple rocket launcher systems fire during the Zapad-2017 war games Credit: Reuters

9 A serviceman of a Russian Baltic Fleet unit checks his weapon Credit: Getty - Contributor

9 Vladimir Putin's relationship with the rest of Europe is under increasing strain Credit: Reuters

Head of the Army General Sir Nick Carter says Britain's armed forces risk falling behind Russia

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