Global tensions are high following the recent NATO summit hosted by the United States. The world’s largest military alliance issued warnings to Belarus and China to back off, after these two nations joined forces to conduct military drills near the Polish border. Although ground forces will be an important factor should things come to a head, NATO is primarily known for its powerful air forces. (This is every U.S. Navy aircraft currently in service.)

Most of the power within any given air force is derived from its fleet of fighter jets and the logistics around how and where these can be deployed. It pays to hold a lot of these military assets, and these are powerful bargaining chips on the table of geopolitics.

Here, 24/7 Wall St. is taking a closer look at the nations with the largest fleets of fighter jets. To identify the 20 countries with the most extensive fighter jet fleets, 24/7 Wall St. analyzed the 2024 World Air Forces report from FlightGlobal, an aviation and aerospace industry website. The ranking was based on the number of fighter jets designated for combat in each country’s active military fleet. Additional information about the overall fleet size and the most common fighter jet also came from FlightGlobal.

At the top of this list are the United States, Russia and China, which boast the strongest air forces in the world. Considering each of these countries is pumping a fair amount of cash into their militaries on an annual basis, these air forces will continue to grow and become even more sophisticated.

It’s also worth pointing out that nations with the largest air forces tend to have more fighter jets. Countries like India and Pakistan each rank fairly high with impressive fleets of their own. As all of these nations strive to maintain or expand their strategic influence, the importance of fighter aircraft in modern warfare will continue to be significant. (This is every modern fighter jet ranked fastest to slowest.)

Here is a look at the countries with the largest fighter jet fleets:

Why Are We Covering This?

The first fighter jets changed the course of warfare during World War II when the German Me 262 attacked a British aircraft in 1944. Since then, fighter jets have evolved tremendously, with the U.S. currently testing jets piloted by artificial intelligence. Driven by the competition with China, these new technologies are sure to lead the shift of what’s to come with fighter jets around the world. 24/7 wants you to be aware of which countries are leading the race to have the air force with the most fighter jets in its arsenal.

20. United Kingdom

• Total fighter jets: 149 (22.44% of total fleet)
• Total military aircraft fleet: 664 (#14 most of 145)
• Most common fighter jet: Eurofighter Typhoon (120 aircraft)

19. Spain

• Total fighter jets: 151 (29.43% of total fleet)
• Total military aircraft fleet: 513 (#19 most of 145)
• Most common fighter jet: EF-18M/F/A-18A (71 aircraft)

18. Greece

• Total fighter jets: 194 (30.70% of total fleet)
• Total military aircraft fleet: 632 (#15 most of 145)
• Most common fighter jet: F-16C (115 aircraft)

17. Turkey

• Total fighter jets: 205 (19.18% of total fleet)
• Total military aircraft fleet: 1,069 (#9 most of 145)
• Most common fighter jet: F-16C (157 aircraft)

16. Germany

• Total fighter jets: 210 (33.98% of total fleet)
• Total military aircraft fleet: 618 (#16 most of 145)
• Most common fighter jet: Eurofighter (133 aircraft)

15. Iran

• Total fighter jets: 218 (39.56% of total fleet)
• Total military aircraft fleet: 551 (#18 most of 145)
• Most common fighter jet: F-4D/E/RF-4E (63 aircraft)

14. France

• Total fighter jets: 224 (23.05% of total fleet)
• Total military aircraft fleet: 972 (#10 most of 145)
• Most common fighter jet: Rafale B/C (92 aircraft)

13. Syria

• Total fighter jets: 225 (49.78% of total fleet)
• Total military aircraft fleet: 452 (#20 most of 145)
• Most common fighter jet: MiG-23 (87 aircraft)

12. Japan

• Total fighter jets: 253 (17.34% of total fleet)
• Total military aircraft fleet: 1,459 (#6 most of 145)
• Most common fighter jet: F-15J (155 aircraft)

11. Israel

• Total fighter jets: 280 (45.75% of total fleet)
• Total military aircraft fleet: 612 (#17 most of 145)
• Most common fighter jet: F-16C/I (175 aircraft)

10. Taiwan

• Total fighter jets: 286 (38.13% of total fleet)
• Total military aircraft fleet: 750 (#13 most of 145)
• Most common fighter jet: F-16A/V (111 aircraft)

9. Egypt

• Total fighter jets: 326 (30.19% of total fleet)
• Total military aircraft fleet: 1,080 (#8 most of 145)
• Most common fighter jet: F-16A/C (168 aircraft)

8. Saudi Arabia

• Total fighter jets: 364 (39.82% of total fleet)
• Total military aircraft fleet: 914 (#12 most of 145)
• Most common fighter jet: F-15C/S/SA (211 aircraft)

7. South Korea

• Total fighter jets: 452 (28.68% of total fleet)
• Total military aircraft fleet: 1,576 (#5 most of 145)
• Most common fighter jet: F-5E (153 aircraft)

6. Pakistan

• Total fighter jets: 477 (33.26% of total fleet)
• Total military aircraft fleet: 1,434 (#7 most of 145)
• Most common fighter jet: F-7 (135 aircraft)

5. North Korea

• Total fighter jets: 572 (60.15% of total fleet)
• Total military aircraft fleet: 951 (#11 most of 145)
• Most common fighter jet: F-5 (Shenyang) (106 aircraft)

4. India

• Total fighter jets: 736 (32.06% of total fleet)
• Total military aircraft fleet: 2,296 (#4 most of 145)
• Most common fighter jet: Su-30 (266 aircraft)

3. Russia

• Total fighter jets: 1,539 (36.17% of total fleet)
• Total military aircraft fleet: 4,255 (#2 most of 145)
• Most common fighter jet: Su-27/30/35 (409 aircraft)

2. China

• Total fighter jets: 1,578 (47.76% of total fleet)
• Total military aircraft fleet: 3,304 (#3 most of 145)
• Most common fighter jet: J-7 (417 aircraft)

1. United States

• Total fighter jets: 2,317 (17.54% of total fleet)
• Total military aircraft fleet: 13,209 (#1 most of 145)
• Most common fighter jet: F-16C (738 aircraft)

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.