NATO’s core principle of collective defense ensures that all members are committed to assisting each other under attack, but is America doing too much?
To shed some light on this issue, we’re taking a look at combat aircraft numbers across NATO countries.
To determine the NATO countries with the most combat aircraft, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 2024 military strength report from Global Firepower, an annually updated defense-related statistics website with information on 145 countries. We ranked these countries according to which have the most fighter and attack aircraft. We included supplemental information regarding each country’s current air force and overall military strength ranking. We excluded NATO countries that do not have any combat aircraft. When looking at the numbers below, remember that the PwrIndx ranking is perfect at 0.0000.
Although some nations do not have standing air forces, the NATO members that do are flush with combat aircraft ready at a moment’s notice. (This is the most widely-used military aircraft on Earth.)
Why We’re Covering This
NATO is a collection of 32 militarily and politically allied countries working to protect each other from potential security threats. By looking at which NATO countries possess the largest selection of military aircraft, you can understand NATO’s overall military strength, its defensive strategy, and the input from different members. If you’re interested in international relations and military affairs, the information below offers a clearer picture of NATO’s capabilities. Considering GDP, having more military aircraft could ultimately relate to stronger economic output.
These are the NATO countries with the most combat aircraft:
22. Croatia
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 11
- Total military aircraft: 81
- Total helicopters: 52
- Total attack helicopters: 0
- Military strength score: 1.1333 – #66 out of 145
21. Hungary
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 12
- Total military aircraft: 62
- Total helicopters: 38
- Total attack helicopters: 8
- Military strength score: 0.8478 – #54 out of 145
20. Romania
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 14
- Total military aircraft: 131
- Total helicopters: 67
- Total attack helicopters: 0
- Military strength score: 0.7712 – #47 out of 145
19. Bulgaria
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 16
- Total military aircraft: 65
- Total helicopters: 27
- Total attack helicopters: 4
- Military strength score: 1.0132 – #62 out of 145
18. Czechia
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 28
- Total military aircraft: 88
- Total helicopters: 33
- Total attack helicopters: 3
- Military strength score: 0.7706 – #46 out of 145
17. Portugal
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 28
- Total military aircraft: 117
- Total helicopters: 38
- Total attack helicopters: 0
- Military strength score: 0.5609 – #38 out of 145
16. Norway
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 30
- Total military aircraft: 102
- Total helicopters: 37
- Total attack helicopters: 0
- Military strength score: 0.5664 – #41 out of 145
15. Denmark
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 37
- Total military aircraft: 119
- Total helicopters: 34
- Total attack helicopters: 0
- Military strength score: 0.7743 – #48 out of 145
14. Belgium
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 45
- Total military aircraft: 110
- Total helicopters: 20
- Total attack helicopters: 0
- Military strength score: 1.2064 – #70 out of 145
13. Netherlands
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 52
- Total military aircraft: 143
- Total helicopters: 66
- Total attack helicopters: 21
- Military strength score: 0.5644 – #40 out of 145
12. Finland
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 55
- Total military aircraft: 164
- Total helicopters: 27
- Total attack helicopters: 0
- Military strength score: 0.7967 – #50 out of 145
11. Canada
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 65
- Total military aircraft: 375
- Total helicopters: 143
- Total attack helicopters: 0
- Military strength score: 0.3813 – #27 out of 145
10. Sweden
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 71
- Total military aircraft: 212
- Total helicopters: 53
- Total attack helicopters: 0
- Military strength score: 0.4009 – #29 out of 145
9. Poland
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 93
- Total military aircraft: 468
- Total helicopters: 215
- Total attack helicopters: 30
- Military strength score: 0.2917 – #21 out of 145
8. United Kingdom
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 149
- Total military aircraft: 664
- Total helicopters: 276
- Total attack helicopters: 52
- Military strength score: 0.1443 – #6 out of 145
7. Spain
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 151
- Total military aircraft: 513
- Total helicopters: 121
- Total attack helicopters: 17
- Military strength score: 0.2882 – #20 out of 145
6. Italy
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 157
- Total military aircraft: 800
- Total helicopters: 402
- Total attack helicopters: 57
- Military strength score: 0.1863 – #10 out of 145
5. Greece
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 194
- Total military aircraft: 632
- Total helicopters: 289
- Total attack helicopters: 29
- Military strength score: 0.4349 – #32 out of 145
4. Turkey
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 205
- Total military aircraft: 1,069
- Total helicopters: 502
- Total attack helicopters: 111
- Military strength score: 0.1697 – #8 out of 145
3. Germany
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 209
- Total military aircraft: 618
- Total helicopters: 318
- Total attack helicopters: 55
- Military strength score: 0.2847 – #19 out of 145
2. France
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 224
- Total military aircraft: 972
- Total helicopters: 447
- Total attack helicopters: 69
- Military strength score: 0.1878 – #11 out of 145
1. United States
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 2,750
- Total military aircraft: 13,209
- Total helicopters: 5,737
- Total attack helicopters: 1,000
- Military strength score: 0.0699 – #1 out of 145
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