The Prime Minister of Poland, Donald Tusk, recently issued a warning to all of Europe warning that the Russia-Ukraine war could spread across the continent. This comes just after a Russian cruise missile crossed Polish airspace before reaching its target in Ukraine. Protecting national airspace is of paramount importance for any country and one of the best ways to do that is to have a fleet of combat aircraft at the ready, much like Poland is doing now. (These are the future combat aircraft of world air forces.)
Aside from Poland, many other NATO allies have sizable fleets of combat aircraft. France and Germany have the most fighter jets of any NATO members on the European continent. However, many other nations that make up the alliance have considerable air forces as well.
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 countries 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.
There are a number of NATO countries that do not have any combat aircraft whatsoever. Instead of relying on a national air force for defensive measures, many of the countries like Iceland or Luxembourg are banking on Article 5 of the treaty. This refers to a “collective defense” within the alliance, namely that any country that should fall under attack by a foreign power would be aided by other member nations.
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.)
Here is a look at the NATO countries with the most combat aircraft:
22. Croatia
Source: usarmyeurope_images / Flickr
- 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
Source: Jozsef Soos / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- 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
Source: sagesolar / Flickr
- 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
Source: usarmyeurope_images / Flickr
- 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
Source: VanderWolf-Images / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- 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
Source: my_public_domain_photos / Flickr
- 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
Source: ajw1970 / Flickr
- 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
Source: usnavy / Flickr
- 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
Source: david_e_smith / Flickr
- 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
Source: lynothehammer / Flickr
- 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
Source: my_public_domain_photos / Flickr
- 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
Source: RayOneMedia / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- 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
Source: my_public_domain_photos / Flickr
- 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
Source: my_public_domain_photos / Flickr
- 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
Source: ajw1970 / Flickr
- 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
Source: my_public_domain_photos / Flickr
- 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
Source: VanderWolf-Images / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- 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
Source: slezo / Flickr
- 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
Source: 7armyjmtc / Flickr
- 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
Source: VanderWolf-Images / iStock
- 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
Source: my_public_domain_photos / Flickr
- 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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