Overview
Which country has the largest air force in Europe?
The country with the largest air force in Europe is Russia with a total of 4,650 war planes and attack choppers. At second and third, are France with 688 aircrafts and Turkey with 674 aircrafts.
The average air force size (planes and helicopters) of the countries in Europe is around 233.7 aircrafts.
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[Special] Check out our gap analysis of Ukraine's military compared to Russia's
Our gap analysis of Russia's military versus NATO's
BY TYPE
Planes. Russia has the most number of war planes in Europe - at 3,212 planes. Average size of war plane fleet among countries in Europe is around 152.7 planes.
Attack Helicopters. Russia has the largest attack chopper fleet (1,438 helicopters) in Europe. In Europe, on average, countries have an attack chopper fleet size of 81.0 helicopters.
These are the countries with the largest air forces in Europe:
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 Europe is France. France allocates about 1.90% of its GDP (estimated at US$50,119M) for its defence budget.
France has a military of 375,100 personnel, with 203,250 active, 41,050 in reserve and 130,800 from paramilitary forces, making up 5.6 military personnel per 1000 in population.
On land, France has a mobile force of 200 tanks. For aerial defence, France has an air force of 395 military aircrafts and 293 attack helicopters.
France's naval fleet is the third-largest in Europe. France has a naval fleet of 36 vessels, including 1 aircraft carriers and 10 nuclear submarines. Rounding up the fleet of warships are 11 frigates and 11 destroyers.
Turkey allocates about 2.70% of its GDP (estimated at US$20,448M) for its defence budget.
Turkey's military force is the third-largest in Europe. With a 890,700-strong military, Turkey has a per-capita ratio of 11 military personnel per 1000 in population. Its total military consists of 355,200 active personnel (second-largest in Europe), 378,700 reserve personnel and 156,800 from paramilitary forces.
Turkey's battle tank force is the second-largest in Europe. On land, Turkey has a mobile force of 2,504 tanks. For aerial defence, Turkey has an air force of 335 military aircrafts and 339 attack helicopters.
Turkey's naval fleet is the second-largest in Europe. Turkey has a naval fleet of 38 vessels, including 14 non-nuclear submarines. The naval fleet of warships also include 18 frigates and 6 corvettes.
United Kingdom's defence expenditure is estimated to be US$48,650M (1.70% of its GDP).
United Kingdom has a military of 227,100 personnel, with 148,500 active and 78,600 in reserve, making up 3.5 military personnel per 1000 in population.
On land, United Kingdom has a mobile force of 227 tanks. For aerial defence, United Kingdom has an air force of 278 military aircrafts and 285 attack helicopters.
United Kingdom's naval fleet is the second-largest in Europe. United Kingdom has a naval fleet of 38 vessels, including 2 aircraft carriers and 11 nuclear submarines. The naval fleet also possesses numerous warships, including 13 frigates and 6 destroyers.
Italy's defence expenditure is estimated to be US$26,790M (1.40% of its GDP).
Italy has a military that is composed of 165,500 active personnel, 18,300 in reserve and 175,750 from paramilitary forces, totalling 359,550 or 5.8 military personnel per 1000 in population.
On land, Italy has a mobile force of 200 tanks. For aerial defence, Italy has an air force of 258 military aircrafts and 211 attack helicopters.
Italy has a naval fleet of 30 vessels, including 2 aircraft carriers and 6 non-nuclear submarines. The naval fleet also possesses numerous warships, including 10 frigates, 4 destroyers and 5 corvettes.
The defence budget of Ukraine is estimated at US$5,229M at around 3.40% of its GDP. Its percentage of GDP allocated to defence spending is the third-highest in Europe.
Ukraine has the second-largest military force in Europe. Ukraine has a military of 1,211,000 personnel, with 209,000 active (third-largest in Europe), 900,000 in reserve and 102,000 from paramilitary forces, making up 27.6 military personnel per 1000 in population.
On land, Ukraine has a mobile force of 700 tanks. For aerial defence, Ukraine has an air force of 203 military aircrafts and 137 attack helicopters.
The naval fleet also possesses numerous warships, including 1 frigates and 1 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
Interactive Chart
