Military
If There Was a Helicopter-Only War, This Superpower Would Win by a Long Shot
Published:
24/7 Wall St. Insights
- We used data from the 2024 military strength report from Global Firepower.
- The United States has the largest attack helicopter fleet in the world.
- Also, Discover “The Next NVIDIA”
Helicopters are among the many types of equipment that play important roles in combat. They are highly specialized aircraft because they are fast, agile, and heavily armed. They are capable of providing air support, anti-tank defense, air-to-air defense, reconnaissance, medical evacuation, troop insertion, and so much more. Many countries utilize attack helicopters of different types. Lately, the Russian-Ukraine conflict has displayed the usefulness of these aircraft and they have played important roles for both countries.
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. 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.
Why Is This Important?
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.
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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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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