U.S. Tops NATO Helicopter Count with More Aircraft Than 29 Member States Combined

24/7 Wall St. Insights

We use Global Firepower’s 2024 military strength report
Additional data about air force and overall military strength provides a well-rounded picture of each
The #1 country has a long history of being a Military Superpower
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As of June 2025, the first successful test flight of an autonomous Leonardo AW139 helicopter has taken place. The Honeywell test flight occurred in Phoenix, with the company planning other trials throughout the summer. The test was run by Near Earth Autonomy and involved a human pilot handing off autonomous control mid-flight. The self-flying helicopters, which are designed for high-risk operations, will limit risk to pilots. The craft are built for marine logistics, medevac, and humanitarian missions. Human monitoring remains in place.

An alliance between North American and European countries formed in 1949 after the signing of the Washington Treaty. There are currently 32 members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO. “If one Ally is attacked, all Allies come to their aid” has been one of their principles of collective defense. They also pledge to uphold democracy. The countries within this vast military alliance employ helicopters in almost every facet of their forces. While some member nations might have larger helicopter fleets than others, it does not preclude the fact that all these helicopters will be in service of the alliance.

Known as some of the most versatile military assets, helicopters play a variety of roles on and off the battlefield that improve the effectiveness of any military force. Helicopters can be used for humanitarian missions and for laying down support fire for troops in the field. With all these operational capabilities, the strongest militaries in the world typically employ a bevy of helicopters for whatever mission may need to be accomplished.

To determine the NATO countries with the most military 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 number of military helicopters, alongside 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. Each of these nations is admittedly the two member states of NATO with the smallest militaries. Although Iceland, in fact, does not have a standing army, navy or air force. Instead, these countries rely on the collective defense clause in NATO should either nation come under attack.

This post was updated on July 23, 2025 to include news of successful test flights of an autonomous helicopter.

Why Is This Important?

Bergen, Norway - June 12, 2022: Bristow Helicopters Sikorsky S-61N on the ramp at Bergen airport in Norway

NATO members work together to tackle crisis management, promote democracy, and create peaceful resolutions to disputes. Its principle of collective defense is the group’s hallmark and speaks to the cooperation encouraged between countries.