10 countries with the largest military aircraft fleets in the world

To determine the aerial prowess of any country's military, consideration must be given to the size and efficiency of the combat aircraft at such a country's disposal.

The ranking of the largest military aircraft fleets in the world usually takes into account values related to total fighting strength for each national power. This involves evaluation of aircraft types from all branches of service - Air Force, Army Aviation, Navy and Marine.

In other words, the general mix of inventory of aircraft types, which include fighters (multirole, interceptors), trainers (basic, advanced), transports (fixed-wing and helos), dedicated bombers and ground-attackers, special-missions platforms, etc., combined to determine a nation's aerial strength.

However, the latest statistics provided by Global Firepower and the World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft (WDMMA) didn't only consider the total quantity of aircraft but parameters such as modernisation and defence capabilities of the aircraft were also assessed.

Therefore, in terms of strength, size, and functionality, these are the top ten countries in the world with the largest military aircraft fleets.

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United States

The United States comes first among the nations of the world when it comes to aerial firepower. The God's own country boasts over 13,300 units of active aircraft in its arsenal from various military forces combined, according to Global Firepower and WDMMA.

Although the two platforms differ on the total figures, as the former quoted 13,300, while the latter puts the U.S. military air fleet at 13,443, the consensus is that no other country comes nearly close to those numbers.

A section-by-section breakdown by WDMMA showed that the U.S. Air Force alone has 1,511 fighter aircraft, 152 bombers, 313 close-air support jets, 213 helicopters, 677 transportation aircraft, 1,541 trainers, 555 aerial tankers/refuelers, 247 special missions aircraft, totalling 5,209.

The U.S. Navy’s total air assets are 2,626, Army Aviation is 4,397, and the Marine Corps is credited to own 1,211 aircraft of various types.

Russia

Coming in second place is the European superpower, Russia, albeit by a country mile. The Eastern European country has 4,182 units of active military aircraft in its inventory, per Global Firepower.

However, WDMMA puts the total figure at 4,036, with the Russian Air Force responsible for 3,652 aircraft while the Russian Naval Aviation owns 384 birds.

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China

If we view the proposed bipolar world through the lens of the military aircraft strength of each country, we will see a clear pattern already emerging. Therefore, it's little surprise that China sits in third place on this list, although not without some contention.

The Asian powerhouse has a total of 3,166 military aircraft per Global Firepower, but Statista puts the figure a bit higher at 3,260.

However, according to WDMMA, China has a combined military aircraft of 719 from its Army and Air Force, a figure that would have knocked the country out of our ranking completely.

India

If there's any country whose military prowess is not often talked about, it definitely has to be India. The South Asian country boasts the fourth-largest inventory of military aircraft in the world, with all reliable platforms putting the total figure at over 2,000.

Statista and Global Firepower listed 2,119 and 2,210 military aircraft for India, respectively, while WDMMA rounded it out at 2,072, with the Air Force responsible for 1,645, Naval Aviation 232, and Army Aviation 195.

South Korea

Another country that may come as a surprise on the list is South Korea. But for a country that shares proximity with an eternal enemy in the form of North Korea, investing heavily in military air assets may be well justified.

According to Global Firepower, South Korea has a total of 1,602 military aircraft on its books while WDMMA quoted a lower figure of 967.

Japan

It seems the Asian countries are not all about the economy alone, as this list has shown them to be quite capable of mixing it with global superpowers in terms of military air assets acquisition.

Japan, according to Global Firepower, has 1,451 military aircraft in its arsenal.

Pakistan

With a total of 1,413 units of military aircraft, Pakistan occupies the seventh position on the list of countries with the largest military air fleet in the world.

Egypt

Egypt is the first African representative on the list and arguably the most powerful on the continent.

The North African country currently has a total of 1,122 units in its active aircraft inventory, including 333 fighter jets and 318 helicopters, per WDMMA while Global Firepower recorded a total of 1,069 aircraft for the Pharaoh army.

Turkey

It's now the turn of the Mediterranean countries to make a shout on the list, albeit in the lower rungs. Turkey is the ninth country with the largest military aircraft fleet in the world, with 1,065 aircraft per Global Firepower, while the WDMMA figure is only far off by 10.

France

France is sitting at the bottom of our list, making it the third European representative. The French army boasts a solid 1,004 military aircraft, although the figure is significantly different according to WDMMA, which estimated the European country's air assets to be 854.