Much of NATO’s strength comes from its collective arsenal of advanced weapons and highly trained troops. This includes the impressive fleets of combat helicopters retained by members of the Alliance. For example, the German Armed Forces recently invested more than €100m (approximately $108,907,500) in unguided 70mm-rockets to train combat helicopter pilots. (These countries are actually making good on their NATO promises.)
Here, 24/7 Wall St. is taking a closer look at NATO nations and the combat helicopters being purchased. To determine which NATO countries are buying the most combat helicopters, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 2024 World Air Forces report from FlightGlobal, an aviation and aerospace industry website. We ranked these countries according to which were ordering the most total combat helicopters. We included supplemental information from GlobalFirePower regarding each country’s current air force and overall military strength ranking. Countries not currently ordering combat helicopters were excluded. (These are all NATO members ranked by military power.)
Why Are We Covering This?
The presence of advanced military helicopters throughout various NATO countries underscores their critical role in defense and conflict scenarios. As technology progresses, these helicopters are continually updated to remain at the forefront of military capabilities. This ensures that NATO remains prepared to address any emerging global security challenges.
Here are the NATO countries buying the most combat helicopters:
21. Latvia
- Combat helicopters on order: 1
- Types of helicopters on order: S-70/UH-40M
- Total military aircraft: 7
- Total helicopters: 7
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 0
- Military strength score: 1.9911 – #99 out of 145
20. Bulgaria
- Combat helicopters on order: 2
- Types of helicopters on order: H215M/AS532
- Total military aircraft: 65
- Total helicopters: 27
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 4
- Military strength score: 1.0132 – #62 out of 145
19. Portugal
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- Combat helicopters on order: 2
- Types of helicopters on order: AW119
- Total military aircraft: 117
- Total helicopters: 38
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 0
- Military strength score: 0.5609 – #38 out of 145
18. Canada
- Combat helicopters on order: 4
- Types of helicopters on order: AW101 (SAR), S-92
- Total military aircraft: 375
- Total helicopters: 143
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 0
- Military strength score: 0.3813 – #27 out of 145
17. Lithuania
- Combat helicopters on order: 6
- Types of helicopters on order: S-70/UH-60M
- Total military aircraft: 9
- Total helicopters: 4
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 0
- Military strength score: 1.7395 – #88 out of 145
16. Slovenia
- Combat helicopters on order: 6
- Types of helicopters on order: AW139M
- Total military aircraft: 38
- Total helicopters: 12
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 0
- Military strength score: 1.8286 – #91 out of 145
15. Slovakia
- Combat helicopters on order: 12
- Types of helicopters on order: AH-1Z
- Total military aircraft: 37
- Total helicopters: 22
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 0
- Military strength score: 1.1891 – #69 out of 145
14. Norway
- Combat helicopters on order: 13
- Types of helicopters on order: AW101, S-70/MH-60R
- Total military aircraft: 102
- Total helicopters: 37
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 0
- Military strength score: 0.5664 – #41 out of 145
13. Hungary
- Combat helicopters on order: 14
- Types of helicopters on order: H225M
- Total military aircraft: 62
- Total helicopters: 38
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 8
- Military strength score: 0.8478 – #54 out of 145
12. Netherlands
- Combat helicopters on order: 14
- Types of helicopters on order: H225M
- Total military aircraft: 143
- Total helicopters: 66
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 21
- Military strength score: 0.5644 – #40 out of 145
11. Czech Republic
- Combat helicopters on order: 17
- Types of helicopters on order: AH-1Z, UH-1Y
- Total military aircraft: 88
- Total helicopters: 33
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 3
- Military strength score: 0.7706 – #46 out of 145
10. United Kingdom
- Combat helicopters on order: 28
- Types of helicopters on order: AH-64D/E, CH-47 HC3/4/5/6/MH-47G
- Total military aircraft: 664
- Total helicopters: 276
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 52
- Military strength score: 0.1443 – #6 out of 145
9. Spain
- Combat helicopters on order: 40
- Types of helicopters on order: CH-47D/F, NH90 (NFH)
- Total military aircraft: 513
- Total helicopters: 121
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 17
- Military strength score: 0.2882 – #20 out of 145
8. Italy
- Combat helicopters on order: 51
- Types of helicopters on order: AW101, AW249
- Total military aircraft: 800
- Total helicopters: 402
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 57
- Military strength score: 0.1863 – #10 out of 145
7. Romania
- Combat helicopters on order: 60
- Types of helicopters on order: AH-1Z, H215M/AS332, UH-1Y
- Total military aircraft: 131
- Total helicopters: 67
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 0
- Military strength score: 0.7712 – #47 out of 145
6. Greece
- Combat helicopters on order: 61
- Types of helicopters on order: NH90 (TTH), S-70/MH-60R, S-70/UH-60
- Total military aircraft: 632
- Total helicopters: 289
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 29
- Military strength score: 0.4349 – #32 out of 145
5. Turkey
- Combat helicopters on order: 93
- Types of helicopters on order: S/T-70, T129
- Total military aircraft: 1,069
- Total helicopters: 502
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 111
- Military strength score: 0.1697 – #8 out of 145
4. Germany
- Combat helicopters on order: 94
- Types of helicopters on order: CH-47F, H145, NH90 (NFH)
- Total military aircraft: 618
- Total helicopters: 318
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 55
- Military strength score: 0.2847 – #19 out of 145
3. France
- Combat helicopters on order: 100
- Types of helicopters on order: H160/M, H225M
- Total military aircraft: 972
- Total helicopters: 447
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 69
- Military strength score: 0.1878 – #11 out of 145
2. Poland
- Combat helicopters on order: 155
- Types of helicopters on order: AH-64E, AW101, AW149
- Total military aircraft: 468
- Total helicopters: 215
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 30
- Military strength score: 0.2917 – #21 out of 145
1. United States
- Combat helicopters on order: 971
- Types of helicopters on order: AH-64D/E, MV-22, CH-53K, S-70/EH/HH/MH/UH-60
- Total military aircraft: 13,209
- Total helicopters: 5,737
- Total attack helicopters aircraft: 1,000
- Military strength score: 0.0699 – #1 out of 145
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