Worldwide Top 10 active aircraft types

Boeing The German navy is set to field five Boeing P-8A maritime patrol aircraft

13,636 active aircraft are owned by the US military – narrowed from almost 1,200 to 903.

Notably though, while North Korea has an on-paper strength of 946 aircraft, this figure has remained unchanged in our directory for several years due to a lack of reliable fleet information.

In a recent report, the US Defense Intelligence Agency argued that the majority of Pyongyang’s 572 combat aircraft are operationally obsolete, and added that its best assets – 56 Mikoyan MiG-23s, 35 RAC MiG-29s and 34 Sukhoi Su-25s – would experience “considerable difficulty” in any flare-up against South Korea’s military.

Despite its concern over the growing capability of so-called great power rivals Beijing and Moscow, Washington’s air power dominance remains apparent. Its armed forces top all six of our directory’s main aircraft usage categories, and their combined fleet strength of 13,246, or 25% of the global total, is greater than those of the next five-ranked nations combined: Russia, China, South Korea, India and Japan.

The first seven positions in our Top 10 ranking of the global military fleet by nation remain unchanged from last time. But a net change of just nine aircraft has propelled Egypt from tenth place to eighth, while Turkey also moved above France into ninth thanks to a total which is just two greater.

For the first time, the F-35 appears in our combat aircraft Top 10 ranking, with 445 aircraft in this category. Another 178 are currently classed as dedicated training assets, boosting the total in-service fleet of the type to 623 examples. The US armed services account for 65% of this total, with another nine nations now operating the type – including Denmark, which received its first examples during 2021.

Notably, our ranking in the tanker category only includes nine aircraft types, with both the A400M and KC-390 recorded under their primary transport role.

Combat aircraft Special mission

Type Active fleet Share 1. F-16 2,248 15% 2. Su-27/30 1,063 7% 3. F-15 963 7% 4. F-18 893 6% 5. MiG-29 822 6% 6. Eurofighter Typhoon 512 3% 7. Su-25 474 3% 8. F-35 445 3% 9. J-7 445 3% 10. F-5 412 3% Other 6,436 44% Total 14,713 100%

Source: Cirium fleets data Type Active fleet Share 1. King Air 224 11% 2. P-3 210 10% 3. EA-18G 164 8% 4. 737 163 8% 5. E-2 130 7% 6. 707 91 5% 7. C295/CN235 67 3% 8. C-130 61 3% 9. Y-8 59 3% 10. Il-18 53 3% Other 788 39% Total 2,010 100% Tanker

Type Active fleet Share 1. KC-135 415 51% 2. C-130 188 23% 3. 767 58 7% 4. DC-10 52 6% 5. A330 44 5% 6. Il-78 38 4% 7. 707 19 2% 8. 747 3 1% 9. A310 2 1% Other 0 0%

Total 819 100%

The Boeing 767 now sits in third place – up from fourth last year – due to the increased number of KC-46As now in USAF service. A first of four examples also has been delivered to lead international customer Japan.

The effect of growing European collaboration is also seen in the tanker listing, with Germany exiting the Top 10 after retiring its A310s and drawing on a current five A330s employed by the NATO Multinational MRTT Force.

Our full annual fleet review – produced in association with Embraer – excludes aircraft recorded by Cirium as not being in day-to-day use, such as some 4,330 known to be in storage, or involved in or awaiting upgrade. We also do not list the 708 assets permanently assigned to performing VIP transport duties, or recorded as being for government or

623

Total in-service fleet for F-35 – including training assets – as type makes debut in Top 10 combat aircraft ranking

Some 3,926 S-70-series rotorcraft are in use

Five A330s are employed by the NATO Multinational MRTT Force

Karolis Kavolelis/Shutterstock private use, plus another 103 flown by Russian paramilitary/reserve operation ROSAAF.

Other omissions include a combined 381 aircraft used as dedicated experimental or research and development assets – such as the 46 operated by France’s DGA defence procurement agency – or those owned by the UK’s Qinetiq to support test pilot training.

A further 399 aircraft recorded as assigned to undisclosed military operators or for use in tasks such as calibration, firefighting, police support, satellite tracking, skydiving, surveying, target towing, and weather reconnaissance are excluded, along with a small number of unmanned air vehicles and target drones.

Our directory – the initial data for which was drawn on 28 September – also includes information about firm orders for some 3,930 aircraft, and letters of intent or options for up to another 6,336. This includes a potential 2,638 F-35s yet to come under contract. ◗

Transport

Type Active fleet Share 1. C-130/L-100 Hercules 872 20% 2. C-17 281 7% 3. King Air 280 7% 4. C295/CN235 279 6% 5. An-24/26 225 5% 6. Il-76 212 5% 7. An-30/32 142 3% 8. Cessna 208 125 3% 9. Y-8 116 3% 10. C212 90 2% Other 1,678 39% Total 4,300 100% Combat helicopter

Type Active fleet Share 1. S-70/SH/UH-60 3,926 20% 2. Mi-8/17 2,819 14% 3. AH-64 1,219 6% 4. UH-1 989 5% 5. CH-47 929 5% 6. Mi-24/35 924 5% 7. MD500/530 565 3% 8. AH-1 492 2% 9. H145 438 2% 10. SA341/342 416 2% Other 7,229 36% Total 19,946 100% Training aircraft/helicopters

Type Active fleet Share 1. T-6 975 8% 2. F-16 646 6% 3. Hawk 608 5% 4. T-38 577 5% 5. L-39 567 5% 6. MFI-15/17/395 477 4% 7. PC-7 363 3% 8. Bell 206 355 3% 9. F-18 317 3% 10. SF260 301 3% Other 6,297 55% Total 11,483 100%