Over the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, attack helicopters have played an important role in determining how it has played out so far. Currently, Russia boasts the second largest fleet of attack helicopters in the world, second only to the United States, and it has tipped the scales of this conflict in Russia’s favor. The importance of these attack helicopters cannot be understated. (These are the future military helicopters of the world.)
Combining various operational roles on the battlefield, attack helicopters are an important part of any strategy on the battlefield. These aircraft are capable of reconnaissance, some can transport troops, but all are capable of laying down heavy fire.
Here 24/7 Wall St. is taking a closer look at countries with the most helicopters that play combat roles. To determine the countries with the most attack helicopters, 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 attack helicopters. We included supplemental information regarding each country’s current air force and overall military strength ranking. We excluded Luxembourg and Iceland from this list because neither has military helicopters.
The United States has the largest attack helicopter fleet in the world with a range of helicopters filling a wide variety of roles. Other NATO countries like Turkey and France rank relatively high on this list as well, each having sizable helicopter fleets. (These are the helicopters used in the Vietnam War.)
On the other hand, Russia and China fill out a few of the top spots on this list as perennial global superpowers. The military buildup in these countries over the last decade has seen a rise in the production of these military assets and there is no doubt that in the years to come there will be even more attack helicopters in their arsenals.
Here is a look at the countries with the largest fleets of attack helicopters:
32. Netherlands
- Total attack helicopters: 21
- Total helicopters: 66
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 52
- Total military aircraft: 143
- Military strength score:: 0.5644 – #40 out of 145
31. Kazakhstan
- Total attack helicopters: 22
- Total helicopters: 75
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 119
- Total military aircraft: 243
- Military strength score:: 0.9495 – #58 out of 145
30. Australia
- Total attack helicopters: 22
- Total helicopters: 79
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 84
- Total military aircraft: 325
- Military strength score:: 0.2515 – #16 out of 145
29. Qatar
- Total attack helicopters: 24
- Total helicopters: 67
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 98
- Total military aircraft: 228
- Military strength score:: 1.0789 – #63 out of 145
28. Belarus
- Total attack helicopters: 25
- Total helicopters: 64
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 88
- Total military aircraft: 183
- Military strength score:: 1.0901 – #64 out of 145
27. Syria
Source: canaran / iStock via Getty Images
- Total attack helicopters: 27
- Total helicopters: 153
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 225
- Total military aircraft: 452
- Military strength score:: 1.0026 – #60 out of 145
26. Bahrain
- Total attack helicopters: 28
- Total helicopters: 74
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 18
- Total military aircraft: 120
- Military strength score:: 1.7163 – #86 out of 145
25. Greece
Source: usarmyeurope_images / Flickr
- Total attack helicopters: 29
- Total helicopters: 289
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 194
- Total military aircraft: 632
- Military strength score:: 0.4349 – #32 out of 145
24. United Arab Emirates
- Total attack helicopters: 30
- Total helicopters: 246
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 117
- Total military aircraft: 560
- Military strength score:: 0.8083 – #51 out of 145
23. Poland
Source: usarmyeurope_images / Flickr
- Total attack helicopters: 30
- Total helicopters: 215
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 93
- Total military aircraft: 468
- Military strength score:: 0.2917 – #21 out of 145
22. Uzbekistan
- Total attack helicopters: 33
- Total helicopters: 100
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 71
- Total military aircraft: 191
- Military strength score:: 1.1069 – #65 out of 145
21. Ukraine
Source: Volodymyr Vorobiov / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Total attack helicopters: 33
- Total helicopters: 130
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 102
- Total military aircraft: 321
- Military strength score:: 0.2598 – #18 out of 145
20. Saudi Arabia
- Total attack helicopters: 34
- Total helicopters: 262
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 364
- Total military aircraft: 914
- Military strength score:: 0.3235 – #23 out of 145
19. Sudan
- Total attack helicopters: 35
- Total helicopters: 64
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 77
- Total military aircraft: 170
- Military strength score:: 1.4119 – #76 out of 145
18. Iraq
- Total attack helicopters: 40
- Total helicopters: 197
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 61
- Total military aircraft: 371
- Military strength score:: 0.7441 – #45 out of 145
17. India
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Total attack helicopters: 40
- Total helicopters: 869
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 736
- Total military aircraft: 2,296
- Military strength score:: 0.1023 – #4 out of 145
16. Jordan
- Total attack helicopters: 43
- Total helicopters: 148
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 50
- Total military aircraft: 265
- Military strength score:: 1.4651 – #80 out of 145
15. Israel
- Total attack helicopters: 48
- Total helicopters: 146
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 280
- Total military aircraft: 612
- Military strength score:: 0.2596 – #17 out of 145
14. United Kingdom
Source: 39955793@N07 / Flickr
- Total attack helicopters: 52
- Total helicopters: 276
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 149
- Total military aircraft: 664
- Military strength score:: 0.1443 – #6 out of 145
13. Germany
Source: usarmyeurope_images / Flickr
- Total attack helicopters: 55
- Total helicopters: 318
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 209
- Total military aircraft: 618
- Military strength score:: 0.2847 – #19 out of 145
12. Italy
Source: thenationalguard / Flickr
- Total attack helicopters: 57
- Total helicopters: 402
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 157
- Total military aircraft: 800
- Military strength score:: 0.1863 – #10 out of 145
11. Pakistan
- Total attack helicopters: 57
- Total helicopters: 352
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 477
- Total military aircraft: 1,434
- Military strength score:: 0.1711 – #9 out of 145
10. France
Source: VanderWolf-Images / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Total attack helicopters: 69
- Total helicopters: 447
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 224
- Total military aircraft: 972
- Military strength score:: 0.1878 – #11 out of 145
9. Algeria
Source: njnationalguard / Flickr
- Total attack helicopters: 75
- Total helicopters: 298
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 144
- Total military aircraft: 605
- Military strength score:: 0.3589 – #26 out of 145
8. Taiwan
- Total attack helicopters: 91
- Total helicopters: 236
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 286
- Total military aircraft: 750
- Military strength score:: 0.3302 – #24 out of 145
7. Egypt
Source: marine_corps / Flickr
- Total attack helicopters: 100
- Total helicopters: 338
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 326
- Total military aircraft: 1,080
- Military strength score:: 0.2283 – #15 out of 145
6. Turkey
- Total attack helicopters: 111
- Total helicopters: 502
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 205
- Total military aircraft: 1,069
- Military strength score:: 0.1697 – #8 out of 145
5. South Korea
- Total attack helicopters: 112
- Total helicopters: 758
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 452
- Total military aircraft: 1,576
- Military strength score:: 0.1416 – #5 out of 145
4. Japan
Source: usnavy / Flickr
- Total attack helicopters: 119
- Total helicopters: 577
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 253
- Total military aircraft: 1,459
- Military strength score:: 0.1601 – #7 out of 145
3. China
Source: my_public_domain_photos / Flickr
- Total attack helicopters: 281
- Total helicopters: 913
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 1,578
- Total military aircraft: 3,304
- Military strength score:: 0.0706 – #3 out of 145
2. Russia
Source: aarrows / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Total attack helicopters: 559
- Total helicopters: 1,547
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 1,539
- Total military aircraft: 4,255
- Military strength score:: 0.0702 – #2 out of 145
1. United States
Source: Thinkstock
- Total attack helicopters: 1,000
- Total helicopters: 5,737
- Total fighter and attack aircraft: 2,750
- Total military aircraft: 13,209
- Military strength score:: 0.0699 – #1 out of 145
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