Combat helicopters play an important role within NATO’s military capabilities, offering a combination of firepower, versatility, and rapid deployment necessary for modern warfare. Since the Vietnam War, these helicopters have been at the forefront of defense strategies, performing a variety of missions from direct attacks and reconnaissance to troop transport and medical evacuation. NATO forces deploy a series of these and are stocking up on more as geopolitical tensions are rising. (This is a comparison of Russia and NATO’s military strength.)
Here 24/7 Wall St. is taking a closer look at NATO nations and what combat helicopters they are purchasing. To determine the NATO countries buying the most combat helicopters, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 2024 World Air Forces report from FlightGlobal, an aviation and aerospace industry website. We ranked these countries according to which countries were ordering the most combat helicopters in total. We included supplemental information from GlobalFirePower regarding each country’s current air force and overall military strength ranking. We excluded countries that are not in the process of ordering combat helicopters.
Within the NATO alliance, the United States has the largest and most diverse combat helicopter fleet. The UH-60 Black Hawk or CH-53K King Stallion are just a couple of examples of helicopters that the U.S. military fields.
Following the U.S., countries such as the United Kingdom and Germany also are home to a number of combat helicopters. The UK’s Army Air Corps operates the Apache AH1, an adapted version of the American AH-64. Germany, on the other hand, utilizes the Eurocopter, developed jointly with France and tailored for anti-tank and close air support roles. (These are the NATO countries with the strongest militaries.)
Here is a look at the NATO countries buying the most combat helicopters:
Why Are We Covering This?
Source: RomanBabakin / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
The presence of these advanced helicopters across various NATO countries underscores their critical role in defense and conflict scenarios. As technology progresses, these helicopters are continually updated to remain at the forefront of military capabilities, ensuring that NATO remains prepared to address any global security challenges.
21. Latvia
- Combat helicopters on order: 1
- Types of helicopters on order: S-70/UH-40M
- Total military aircraft: 7
- Total helicopters: 7
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 0
- Military strength score: 1.9911 – #99 out of 145
20. Bulgaria
Source: usarmyeurope_images / Flickr
- Combat helicopters on order: 2
- Types of helicopters on order: H215M/AS532
- Total military aircraft: 65
- Total helicopters: 27
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 4
- Military strength score: 1.0132 – #62 out of 145
19. Portugal
Source: cne-cna-c6f / Flickr
- Combat helicopters on order: 2
- Types of helicopters on order: AW119
- Total military aircraft: 117
- Total helicopters: 38
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 0
- Military strength score: 0.5609 – #38 out of 145
18. Canada
Source: sdasmarchives / Flickr
- Combat helicopters on order: 4
- Types of helicopters on order: AW101 (SAR), S-92
- Total military aircraft: 375
- Total helicopters: 143
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 0
- Military strength score: 0.3813 – #27 out of 145
17. Lithuania
- Combat helicopters on order: 6
- Types of helicopters on order: S-70/UH-60M
- Total military aircraft: 9
- Total helicopters: 4
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 0
- Military strength score: 1.7395 – #88 out of 145
16. Slovenia
Source: VanderWolf-Images / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Combat helicopters on order: 6
- Types of helicopters on order: AW139M
- Total military aircraft: 38
- Total helicopters: 12
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 0
- Military strength score: 1.8286 – #91 out of 145
15. Slovakia
- Combat helicopters on order: 12
- Types of helicopters on order: AH-1Z
- Total military aircraft: 37
- Total helicopters: 22
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 0
- Military strength score: 1.1891 – #69 out of 145
14. Norway
Source: Photofex_AUT / Shutterstock.com
- Combat helicopters on order: 13
- Types of helicopters on order: AW101, S-70/MH-60R
- Total military aircraft: 102
- Total helicopters: 37
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 0
- Military strength score: 0.5664 – #41 out of 145
13. Hungary
Source: Jozsef Soos / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Combat helicopters on order: 14
- Types of helicopters on order: H225M
- Total military aircraft: 62
- Total helicopters: 38
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 8
- Military strength score: 0.8478 – #54 out of 145
12. Netherlands
- Combat helicopters on order: 14
- Types of helicopters on order: H225M
- Total military aircraft: 143
- Total helicopters: 66
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 21
- Military strength score: 0.5644 – #40 out of 145
11. Czech Republic
Source: VanderWolf-Images / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Combat helicopters on order: 17
- Types of helicopters on order: AH-1Z, UH-1Y
- Total military aircraft: 88
- Total helicopters: 33
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 3
- Military strength score: 0.7706 – #46 out of 145
10. United Kingdom
Source: marine_corps / Flickr
- Combat helicopters on order: 28
- Types of helicopters on order: AH-64D/E, CH-47 HC3/4/5/6/MH-47G
- Total military aircraft: 664
- Total helicopters: 276
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 52
- Military strength score: 0.1443 – #6 out of 145
9. Spain
Source: cne-cna-c6f / Flickr
- Combat helicopters on order: 40
- Types of helicopters on order: CH-47D/F, NH90 (NFH)
- Total military aircraft: 513
- Total helicopters: 121
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 17
- Military strength score: 0.2882 – #20 out of 145
8. Italy
Source: usnavy / Flickr
- Combat helicopters on order: 51
- Types of helicopters on order: AW101, AW249
- Total military aircraft: 800
- Total helicopters: 402
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 57
- Military strength score: 0.1863 – #10 out of 145
7. Romania
- Combat helicopters on order: 60
- Types of helicopters on order: AH-1Z, H215M/AS332, UH-1Y
- Total military aircraft: 131
- Total helicopters: 67
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 0
- Military strength score: 0.7712 – #47 out of 145
6. Greece
Source: coast_guard / Flickr
- Combat helicopters on order: 61
- Types of helicopters on order: NH90 (TTH), S-70/MH-60R, S-70/UH-60
- Total military aircraft: 632
- Total helicopters: 289
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 29
- Military strength score: 0.4349 – #32 out of 145
5. Turkey
- Combat helicopters on order: 93
- Types of helicopters on order: S/T-70, T129
- Total military aircraft: 1,069
- Total helicopters: 502
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 111
- Military strength score: 0.1697 – #8 out of 145
4. Germany
- Combat helicopters on order: 94
- Types of helicopters on order: CH-47F, H145, NH90 (NFH)
- Total military aircraft: 618
- Total helicopters: 318
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 55
- Military strength score: 0.2847 – #19 out of 145
3. France
Source: my_public_domain_photos / Flickr
- Combat helicopters on order: 100
- Types of helicopters on order: H160/M, H225M
- Total military aircraft: 972
- Total helicopters: 447
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 69
- Military strength score: 0.1878 – #11 out of 145
2. Poland
Source: curraheeshutter / Shutterstock.com
- Combat helicopters on order: 155
- Types of helicopters on order: AH-64E, AW101, AW149
- Total military aircraft: 468
- Total helicopters: 215
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 30
- Military strength score: 0.2917 – #21 out of 145
1. United States
- Combat helicopters on order: 971
- Types of helicopters on order: AH-64D/E, MV-22, CH-53K, S-70/EH/HH/MH/UH-60
- Total military aircraft: 13,209
- Total helicopters: 5,737
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 1,000
- Military strength score: 0.0699 – #1 out of 145
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