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Force Rankings

Air Forces

162 air forces ranked by the AIRS Index (Air Inventory Rating of Strength), with 58,359 military aircraft in service worldwide as of 2026. The United States (index 100.0, 13,004 aircraft) leads, ahead of China (index 74.5, 6,341 aircraft) and Russia (index 53.2, 5,378 aircraft).

World Air Forces Inventories

How the index works โ†’
# Country AIRS Index (Air Inventory Rating of Strength) All aircraft ฮ” YoY Combat
1 ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States Air Force 100.0 13,004 -39 2,956
2 ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ People's Liberation Army Air Force 74.5 6,341 +2,928 3,222
3 ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ Russian Air Force 53.2 5,378 +1,088 1,524
4 ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ Indian Air Force 34.7 2,256 -42 588
5 ๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan Air Self-Defense Force 29.2 1,410 -33 341
6 ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท Republic of Korea Air Force 28.5 1,552 +3 374
7 ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Royal Saudi Air Force 27.9 914 -3 384
8 ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท French Air and Space Force 27.5 1,017 +41 264
9 ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ท Turkish Air Force 23.8 1,357 +259 299
10 ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช German Air Force 23.5 657 +72 224
11 ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Israeli Air Force 23.5 525 +7 263
12 ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น Italian Air Force 23.2 778 +52 190
13 ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ผ Republic of China Air Force 23.2 714 -56 319
14 ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง Royal Air Force 22.6 673 +22 151
15 ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ฌ Egyptian Air Force 21.7 1,139 +50 557

Situation Report

Latest inventory updates Updated daily
  1. SEP 92026 A-10C Damaged ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States ยท Left with a missing wing in the Iranian ballistic-missile barrage on Muwaffaq Salti AB, a US official told Reuters; the US President denied any damage.
  2. SEP 92026 F-15C/E Damaged ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States ยท Around eight F-15E lightly damaged in the Iranian missile barrage on Muwaffaq Salti AB and returned to service, CBS News and a US official cited by Reuters reported.
  3. SEP 82026 5ร— CH-47D/F Delivered ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ฌ Egypt ยท First five of 12 CH-47F Chinooks handed over during the El Alamein air show, starting the replacement of the CH-47D fleet.
  4. SEP 72026 2ร— Su-27/30/35 Crash ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ Russia ยท Two Su-35S collided in mid-air over Kursk Oblast; one pilot killed, the other ejected with serious injuries.
  5. SEP 52026 F-4E Crash ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ท Greece ยท Flew into the ground during a low-level display turn at Tanagra AB during Athens Flying Week; both crew killed.
All 1,163 air force events โ†’
Top aircraft in active service in the world

World Air Forces Inventories (continued)

# Country AIRS Index (Air Inventory Rating of Strength) All aircraft ฮ” YoY Combat
16 ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฐ Pakistan Air Force 21.0 1,506 +114 469
17 ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ช United Arab Emirates Air Force 19.8 592 +57 135
18 ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ท Hellenic Air Force 19.4 722 +106 217
19 ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ Royal Australian Air Force 19.2 382 +55 96
20 ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ Spanish Air and Space Force 18.5 509 +30 178
21 ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Algerian Air Force 17.7 612 +10 156
22 ๐Ÿ‡ถ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Qatar Emiri Air Force 15.6 283 +32 126
23 ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ต Korean People's Army Air Force 14.6 1,131 -3 571
24 ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Royal Canadian Air Force 14.2 360 +9 92
25 ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ท Brazilian Air Force 14.2 515 -13 146
26 ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฑ Polish Air Force 14.1 479 -3 68
27 ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Republic of Singapore Air Force 13.9 231 +1 100
28 ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Indonesian Air Force 13.8 483 +37 65
29 ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ท Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force 13.5 659 +19 295
30 ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ช Swedish Air Force 12.6 178 +10 96
# Country AIRS Index (Air Inventory Rating of Strength) All aircraft ฮ” YoY Combat
31 ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Ukraine Air Force 12.4 342 +1 137
32 ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ด Royal Norwegian Air Force 11.9 111 +14 52
33 ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Royal Netherlands Air Force 11.5 146 +26 40
34 ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ญ Royal Thai Air Force 11.4 481 -16 84
35 ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Chilean Air Force 10.4 277 0 81
36 ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ถ Iraqi Air Force 10.4 396 +5 53
37 ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ผ Kuwait Air Force 10.2 134 +6 50
38 ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Finnish Air Force 10.1 164 +1 62
39 ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Royal Danish Air Force 9.7 123 -5 57
40 ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ด Colombian Air Force 9.6 437 +3 43
41 ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ช Belgian Air Component 9.6 107 -1 64
42 ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Royal Moroccan Air Force 9.4 290 +30 92
43 ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡พ Syrian Arab Air Force 9.3 414 0 225
44 ๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ด Royal Jordanian Air Force 9.3 258 +12 73
45 ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Myanmar/ Burma Air Force 9.2 338 +21 132
# Country AIRS Index (Air Inventory Rating of Strength) All aircraft ฮ” YoY Combat
46 ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Kazakh Air Defense Forces 8.8 186 -12 68
47 ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡พ Royal Malaysian Air Force 8.6 164 +30 25
48 ๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ณ Vietnam People's Air Force 8.6 205 -41 71
49 ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡พ Air Force and Air Defence Forces of the Republic of Belarus 8.6 205 +21 100
50 ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฝ Mexican Air Force 8.1 431 -2 4
51 ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ด Romanian Air Force 8.0 166 +24 49
52 ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ญ Swiss Air Force 8.0 148 +2 49
53 ๐Ÿ‡ด๐Ÿ‡ฒ Royal Air Force of Oman 7.9 126 +32 35
54 ๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ช Venezuelan Air Force 7.8 226 -2 54
55 ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Uzbekistan Air and Air Defence Forces 7.7 196 +5 76
56 ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ญ Philippine Air Force 7.5 276 +85 17
57 ๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ South African Air Force 7.5 192 +53 25
58 ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ญ Royal Bahraini Air Force 7.5 140 +8 48
59 ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ช Peruvian Air Force 7.4 255 +2 42
60 ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Azerbaijani Air Force 7.0 210 +56 39
# Country AIRS Index (Air Inventory Rating of Strength) All aircraft ฮ” YoY Combat
61 ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ท Argentine Air Force 6.9 247 +9 32
62 ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ด National Air Force of Angola 6.8 280 -19 87
63 ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡น Portuguese Air Force 6.7 100 +21 33
64 ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Czech Air Force 6.5 114 +15 14
65 ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฉ Bangladesh Air Force 6.3 220 +5 79
66 ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฌ Bulgarian Air Force 6.2 79 +8 27
67 ๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡บ Hungarian Air Force 6.1 86 +17 14
68 ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Nigerian Air Force 6.0 182 +15 36
69 ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Sudanese Air Force 5.9 184 +19 91
70 ๐Ÿ‡พ๐Ÿ‡ช Yemeni Air Force 5.9 156 -12 75
71 ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡น Austrian Air Force 5.8 89 +4 15
72 ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ธ Serbian Air Force and Air Defence 5.7 151 +41 32
73 ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฒ Turkmen Air Force 5.7 92 +1 54
74 ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Slovak Air Force 5.6 51 +5 14
75 ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡น Ethiopian Air Force 5.4 99 -4 34
# Country AIRS Index (Air Inventory Rating of Strength) All aircraft ฮ” YoY Combat
76 ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡จ Ecuadorian Air Force 5.3 105 +2 17
77 ๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ท Croatian Air Force and Air Defense 5.0 67 0 12
78 ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ช Kenya Air Force 4.8 120 -34 23
79 ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ณ Tunisian Air Force 4.4 174 +6 13
80 ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Armenian Air Force 4.3 69 -2 20
81 ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Sri Lanka Air Force 4.0 99 +15 17
82 ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ด Bolivian Air Force 3.7 70 +7 4
83 ๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ณ Honduran Air Force 3.7 61 +4 20
84 ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡พ Libyan Air Force 3.5 80 -8 20
85 ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Uganda Air Force 3.5 51 0 6
86 ๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ผ Air Force of Zimbabwe 3.4 94 -10 21
87 ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Royal New Zealand Air Force 3.4 47 +5 0
88 ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฉ Chadian Air Force 3.3 44 +7 9
89 ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ผ Botswanan Air Force 3.3 45 0 15
90 ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ณ Mongolian Air Force 3.3 22 +3 10
# Country AIRS Index (Air Inventory Rating of Strength) All aircraft ฮ” YoY Combat
91 ๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Zambian Air Force 3.3 80 +3 15
92 ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฆ Panamanian National Aeronaval Service 3.2 40 +2 0
93 ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฟ Tanzania Air Force Command 3.2 43 +2 20
94 ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Air Force of the Democratic Republic of the Congo 3.2 57 +3 6
95 ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ด Dominican Air Force 3.1 77 -2 8
96 ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ช Georgian Air Force 3.1 63 +1 11
97 ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡พ Paraguayan Air Force 3.0 56 +9 6
98 ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡พ Uruguayan Air Force 3.0 46 +3 6
99 ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช Irish Air Corps 2.9 27 +1 0
100 ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ป Air Force of El Salvador 2.8 53 +1 6
101 ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡น Guatemalan Air Force 2.8 37 +1 3
102 ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Cameroonian Air Force 2.7 35 0 6
103 ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Mali Air Force 2.6 43 0 12
104 ๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Jamaica Defence Force 2.6 17 -1 0
105 ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ถ Equatorial Guinea Air Force 2.5 27 +7 4
# Country AIRS Index (Air Inventory Rating of Strength) All aircraft ฮ” YoY Combat
106 ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ช Nigerien Air Force 2.5 25 +1 2
107 ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ณ Senegalese Air Force 2.5 40 0 0
108 ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ซ Burkina Faso Air Force 2.5 26 +1 3
109 ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Slovenian Air Force and Air Defence 2.5 39 0 0
110 ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ญ Royal Cambodian Air Force 2.4 25 0 0
111 ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ต Nepalese Army Air Service 2.3 22 +7 0
112 ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ซ Afghan Air Force 2.3 34 +5 1
113 ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ท Mauritania Islamic Air Force 2.3 23 -1 4
114 ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Gabonese Air Force 2.3 25 +1 6
115 ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Namibian Air Force 2.2 34 0 22
116 ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ท Eritrean Air Force 2.1 20 +1 2
117 ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡พ Air Command of Cyprus 2.1 13 +6 0
118 ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ง Lebanese Air Force 2.1 64 -2 5
119 ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ญ Ghanaian Air Force 2.1 20 +1 4
120 ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฏ Djibouti Air Force 2.1 17 0 0
# Country AIRS Index (Air Inventory Rating of Strength) All aircraft ฮ” YoY Combat
121 ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force 2.1 32 -1 4
122 ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Ivorian Air Force 2.1 17 -2 0
123 ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ณ Royal Brunei Air Force 2.0 26 0 0
124 ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡พ Guyana Defence Force Air Command 2.0 11 +7 0
125 ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡น Lithuanian Air Force 1.9 11 +2 0
126 ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ธ South Sudan Air Force 1.8 20 0 0
127 ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Mozambique Air Force 1.8 21 0 8
128 ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡น Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force Air Guard 1.6 6 +4 0
129 ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡น Air Wing of the Armed Forces of Malta 1.6 7 -2 0
130 ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡บ Cuban Revolutionary Air Force 1.6 20 -11 0
131 ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ธ Lesotho Defence Force โ€“ Air Squadron 1.6 9 0 0
132 ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Air Force of the Republic of Congo 1.6 14 0 2
133 ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ผ Malawian Air Force 1.6 11 +1 0
134 ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Nicaraguan Army Air Force 1.5 17 0 0
135 ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ผ Rwandan Air Force 1.5 21 0 0
# Country AIRS Index (Air Inventory Rating of Strength) All aircraft ฮ” YoY Combat
136 ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Albanian Air Force 1.5 19 0 0
137 ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ป Latvian Air Force 1.5 7 +1 0
138 ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฏ Beninese Air Force 1.4 11 +6 0
139 ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ช Montenegrin Air Force 1.4 11 0 0
140 ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฏ Tajik Air Force 1.3 26 +1 0
141 ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฌ Togolese Air Force 1.3 18 0 5
142 ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ป Coast Guard Aviation Squadron 1.3 4 0 0
143 ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡จ Seychelles People's Defence Force Air Wing 1.2 4 +2 0
144 ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Moldovan Air Force 1.2 5 +2 0
145 ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Air Force of North Macedonia 1.2 20 0 0
146 ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Kyrgyz Air Force 1.2 9 +2 0
147 ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฌ Papua New Guinea Air Wing 1.1 3 0 0
148 ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฎ Burundian Air Force 1.1 13 +1 0
149 ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ช Estonian Air Force 1.0 5 0 0
150 ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ธ Royal Bahamas Defence Force Air Wing 1.0 2 0 0
# Country AIRS Index (Air Inventory Rating of Strength) All aircraft ฮ” YoY Combat
151 ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฆ Air Force and Anti-Aircraft Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina 1.0 15 -7 0
152 ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Antigua andย Barbuda Air Force 0.9 2 +1 0
153 ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฟ Belize Defence Force Air Wing 0.9 3 0 0
154 ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Malagasy Air Force 0.9 4 0 0
155 ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ณ Guinean Air Force 0.8 7 0 0
156 ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Gambian Air Force 0.7 1 +1 1
157 ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡บ Luxembourg Army Aviation 0.7 1 0 0
158 ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ซ Central African Republic Air Force 0.6 8 +2 0
159 ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Military of Eswatini Air Wing 0.4 5 0 0
160 ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ท Surinamese Air Force 0.4 3 0 0
161 ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Sierra Leone Defence Force Air Force 0.3 1 0 0
162 ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡น Bhutanese Air Force 0.3 2 0 0

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Published weights โ†’
Re-weight the AIRS Index Custom weighting

Every weight of the index is a control below, set to its published value. Move one and the 162 air forces are re-scored on the same inventory; the ฮ” column shows who moves against the published ranking. Your weighting lives in the page address โ€” copy it to share โ€” and is never the GlobalMilitary.net ranking.

Generation tiers
Weight per aircraft
Multipliers
# Air force Your score ฮ” Quality Enablers Armament Availability

Approximations: the tiers of one group move together, in proportion to their published values; the helicopter era factor and the drone price factor are fixed at their published values; the enabler coverage targets (one tanker per 25 combat aircraft, one AEW per 40) and the availability bounds ($1.1M and $17.5M of PPP budget per point of the fleet) stay fixed; the order book is valued at the published weights. Everything else is the exact calculation of the methodology.