Overview
Which country has the largest air force in the world?
The country with the largest air force is United States with a total of 17,781 war planes and attack choppers. At second and third, are Russia with 4,650 aircrafts and China with 3,065 aircrafts.
The average air force size (planes and helicopters) of the countries worldwide is around 259.0 aircrafts.
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BY TYPE
Planes. United States has the most number of war planes - at 14,061 planes. Average size of war plane fleet among countries is around 191.6 planes.
Attack Helicopters. United States has the largest attack chopper fleet (3,720 helicopters) in the world. Globally, on average, countries have an attack chopper fleet size of 67.3 helicopters.
These are the countries with the largest air forces:
United States's defence budget is the highest in the world. United States allocates about 3.40% of its GDP (estimated at US$731,751M) for its defence budget. Its percentage of GDP allocated to defence spending is the highest in North America.
United States has the largest military force in North America. United States has a military that is composed of 1,388,100 active personnel (third-largest in the world) and 844,950 in reserve, totalling 2,233,050 or 6.8 military personnel per 1000 in population.
United States's battle tank force is the largest in North America. On land, United States has a mobile force of 8,850 tanks. For aerial defence, United States has an air force of 14,061 military aircrafts and 3,720 attack helicopters.
United States's naval fleet is the second-largest in the world. United States has a naval fleet of 254 vessels, including 11 aircraft carriers and 70 nuclear submarines. The naval fleet also possesses numerous warships, including 21 frigates, 69 destroyers and 27 corvettes.
Russia's defence budget is the highest in Europe. The defence budget of Russia is estimated at US$65,103M at around 3.90% of its GDP. Its percentage of GDP allocated to defence spending is the second-highest in Europe.
Russia has the largest military force in Europe. With a 3,568,000-strong military, Russia has a per-capita ratio of 25.1 military personnel per 1000 in population. Its total military consists of 1,014,000 active personnel (largest in Europe), 2,000,000 reserve personnel and 554,000 from paramilitary forces.
Russia's battle tank force is the largest in the world. On land, Russia has a mobile force of 22,710 tanks. For aerial defence, Russia has an air force of 3,212 military aircrafts and 1,438 attack helicopters.
Russia's naval fleet is the third-largest in the world. Russia has a naval fleet of 220 vessels, including 1 aircraft carriers and 59 nuclear submarines. The naval fleet of warships also include 6 frigates, 18 destroyers and 78 corvettes.
The country with the second-highest defence budget in the world is China. China's defence expenditure is estimated to be US$261,082M (1.90% of its GDP).
With a 4,015,000-strong military, China has a per-capita ratio of 2.9 military personnel per 1000 in population. Its total military consists of 2,185,000 active personnel (largest in the world), 1,170,000 reserve personnel and 660,000 from paramilitary forces.
China has the third-largest battle tank force in the world. On land, China has a mobile force of 9,000 tanks. For aerial defence, China has an air force of 2,615 military aircrafts and 450 attack helicopters.
China has the largest naval fleet in the world. China has a naval fleet of 270 vessels, including 2 aircraft carriers, 14 nuclear submarines and 55 non-nuclear submarines. The naval fleet of warships also include 52 frigates, 36 destroyers and 42 corvettes.
With a 317,500-strong military, Japan has a per-capita ratio of 2.5 military personnel per 1000 in population. Its total military consists of 247,150 active personnel, 56,000 reserve personnel and 14,350 from paramilitary forces.
On land, Japan has a mobile force of 688 tanks. For aerial defence, Japan has an air force of 777 military aircrafts and 207 attack helicopters.
Japan has a naval fleet of 73 vessels, including 20 non-nuclear submarines. The naval fleet of warships also include 6 frigates and 40 destroyers.
The defence budget of South Korea is estimated at US$43,891M at around 2.70% of its GDP.
South Korea has the second-largest military force in the world. With a 6,712,500-strong military, South Korea has a per-capita ratio of 130.5 military personnel per 1000 in population. Its total military consists of 599,000 active personnel, 3,100,000 reserve personnel and 3,013,500 from paramilitary forces. Its per-capita military is the second-highest in the world.
On land, South Korea has a mobile force of 2,514 tanks. For aerial defence, South Korea has an air force of 587 military aircrafts and 273 attack helicopters.
South Korea's naval fleet is the second-largest in Asia. South Korea has a naval fleet of 86 vessels, including 23 non-nuclear submarines. The naval fleet also possesses numerous warships, including 14 frigates, 12 destroyers and 36 corvettes.
The country with the second-highest defence budget in Africa is Egypt. Egypt's defence expenditure is estimated to be US$3,744M (1.20% of its GDP).
Egypt has the largest military force in Africa. With a 1,314,500-strong military, Egypt has a per-capita ratio of 13.2 military personnel per 1000 in population. Its total military consists of 438,500 active personnel (largest in Africa), 479,000 reserve personnel and 397,000 from paramilitary forces.
Egypt's battle tank force is the largest in Africa. On land, Egypt has a mobile force of 4,295 tanks. For aerial defence, Egypt has an air force of 569 military aircrafts and 132 attack helicopters.
Egypt has the largest naval fleet in Africa. Egypt has a naval fleet of 22 vessels, including 8 non-nuclear submarines. Rounding up the fleet of warships are 7 frigates and 7 corvettes.
Check out these military rankings by region and force type:
Gap Analysis - Ukraine vs Russia | NATO vs Russia
Largest Militaries Worldwide - by total force | by active force | by force per capita
Largest Militaries (region) - Asia | N. Asia | Europe | Africa | Middle East | N. America | S. America
NATO Nations - Defense Spending | Air Force | Military | Tanks | Navy | Submarines
G20 Nations - Defense Spending | Air Force | Military | Tanks | Navy | Submarines | Nuclear
ASEAN Nations - Defense Spending | Air Force | Military | Tanks | Navy
Northeast Asia Nations - Defense Spending | Air Force | Military | Tanks | Navy | Submarines
Gap Analysis - NATO & Russia | Ukraine & Russia | China & Taiwan
Highest Military Budgets - World | Asia | N. Asia | Europe | Africa | Middle East | N. America | S. America
Largest Navy - World | Asia | N. Asia | Europe | S. America
Most Submarines - World | Asia | N. Asia | Europe | S. America
Largest Air Force - World | Africa | Asia | N. Asia | Europe | Middle East | N. America | S. America
Most Battle Tanks - World | Africa | Asia | N. Asia | Europe | Middle East