NATO’s air power is not just purely advanced fighter jets and stealth bombers, but more so the men and women in uniform that operate and maintain these air forces. Countries like Turkey and France have formidable air forces within the Alliance, but they all fall short of the US Air Force in terms of tech and scale. The USAF, in fact, has more personnel than many NATO militaries in total, but again that’s not to say these European allies do not have strong a strong backing. Here, 24/7 Wall St. is taking a closer look at NATO air forces.
To determine the NATO countries with the most air force personnel, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 2025 Military Strength Ranking from Global Firepower, an annually updated defense-related statistics website with information on 145 countries. Global Firepower ranked 145 countries based on their PowerIndex, a composite of over 60 measures in categories such as military might, financials, logistical capability, and geography. The smaller the PowerIndex value the more powerful a nation’s theoretical conventional fighting capability is. We ranked these countries based on total air force personnel. We also included supplemental information regarding personnel counts from other military branches, active personnel, total personnel, as well as the overall military strength score and defense budget. Countries with no air force personnel were excluded.
Here is a look at the countries with the most air force personnel in NATO:
Why Are We Covering This?
Understanding NATO’s military dynamics is important when looking at the state of global security. Since its inception, NATO has played a pivotal role in shaping international relations through its collective defense and security framework. As geopolitical tensions continue to rise and new threats emerge, knowing and understanding NATO’s military capabilities is important for getting a clearer picture of the world stage. Not to mention, countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, among others, contribute significantly to NATO’s military strength, influencing global power balances and regional stability.
30. Latvia
- Total air force personnel: 250
- Total army personnel: 6,700
- Total navy personnel: 1,000
- Active military personnel: 17,250
- Reserve military personnel: 36,000
- Paramilitary personnel: 12,500
- Total military personnel: 65,750
- Military strength score and world rank: 2.1246 – #99 out of 145
- Military defense budget: $1,138,000,000 – #84 out of 145
29. Montenegro
- Total air force personnel: 350
- Total army personnel: 1,500
- Total navy personnel: 550
- Active military personnel: 2,350
- Reserve military personnel: 0
- Paramilitary personnel: 5,500
- Total military personnel: 7,850
- Military strength score and world rank: 2.9216 – #127 out of 145
- Military defense budget: $148,100,000 – #136 out of 145
28. North Macedonia
- Total air force personnel: 350
- Total army personnel: 7,500
- Total navy personnel: 0
- Active military personnel: 9,000
- Reserve military personnel: 60,000
- Paramilitary personnel: 3,500
- Total military personnel: 7,250
- Military strength score and world rank: 2.4042 – #112 out of 145
- Military defense budget: $388,421,700 – #114 out of 145
27. Slovenia
- Total air force personnel: 610
- Total army personnel: 6,500
- Total navy personnel: 350
- Active military personnel: 7,300
- Reserve military personnel: 26,000
- Paramilitary personnel: 5,000
- Total military personnel: 38,300
- Military strength score and world rank: 2.1016 – #96 out of 145
- Military defense budget: $886,860,000 – #91 out of 145
26. Albania
- Total air force personnel: 660
- Total army personnel: 2,335
- Total navy personnel: 1,000
- Active military personnel: 6,600
- Reserve military personnel: 2,000
- Paramilitary personnel: 500
- Total military personnel: 9,100
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.6815 – #78 out of 145
- Military defense budget: $558,862,420 – #101 out of 145
25. Croatia
- Total air force personnel: 1,260
- Total army personnel: 7,075
- Total navy personnel: 1,365
- Active military personnel: 14,325
- Reserve military personnel: 20,100
- Paramilitary personnel: 2,000
- Total military personnel: 36,425
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.5074 – #75 out of 145
- Military defense budget: $1,176,000,000 – #83 out of 145
24. Lithuania
- Total air force personnel: 1,500
- Total army personnel: 14,500
- Total navy personnel: 700
- Active military personnel: 23,000
- Reserve military personnel: 104,000
- Paramilitary personnel: 14,150
- Total military personnel: 141,150
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.9075 – #88 out of 145
- Military defense budget: $2,388,900,000 – #66 out of 145
23. Estonia
- Total air force personnel: 1,570
- Total army personnel: 4,000
- Total navy personnel: 500
- Active military personnel: 7,700
- Reserve military personnel: 78,800
- Paramilitary personnel: 10,000
- Total military personnel: 96,500
- Military strength score and world rank: 2.2917 – #107 out of 145
- Military defense budget: $1,463,360,000 – #77 out of 145
22. Sweden
- Total air force personnel: 2,700
- Total army personnel: 6,850
- Total navy personnel: 2,100
- Active military personnel: 24,400
- Reserve military personnel: 32,900
- Paramilitary personnel: 25,000
- Total military personnel: 82,300
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.4835 – #27 out of 145
- Military defense budget: $13,000,000,000 – #28 out of 145
21. Slovakia
- Total air force personnel: 3,200
- Total army personnel: 10,200
- Total navy personnel: 0
- Active military personnel: 19,500
- Reserve military personnel: 0
- Paramilitary personnel: 0
- Total military personnel: 19,500
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.3978 – #71 out of 145
- Military defense budget: $2,656,000,000 – #64 out of 145
20. Denmark
- Total air force personnel: 3,500
- Total army personnel: 88,400
- Total navy personnel: 3,600
- Active military personnel: 20,000
- Reserve military personnel: 12,000
- Paramilitary personnel: 51,000
- Total military personnel: 83,000
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.8109 – #45 out of 145
- Military defense budget: $7,225,466,250 – #40 out of 145
19. Norway
- Total air force personnel: 3,650
- Total army personnel: 8,815
- Total navy personnel: 4,000
- Active military personnel: 23,250
- Reserve military personnel: 0
- Paramilitary personnel: 40,000
- Total military personnel: 63,250
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.6811 – #38 out of 145
- Military defense budget: $9,710,000,000 – #32 out of 145
18. Czechia
- Total air force personnel: 5,000
- Total army personnel: 13,000
- Total navy personnel: 0
- Active military personnel: 28,000
- Reserve military personnel: 4,200
- Paramilitary personnel: 0
- Total military personnel: 32,200
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.9994 – #53 out of 145
- Military defense budget: $6,750,000,000 – #43 out of 145
17. Hungary
- Total air force personnel: 5,750
- Total army personnel: 32,000
- Total navy personnel: 0
- Active military personnel: 41,600
- Reserve military personnel: 20,000
- Paramilitary personnel: 15,000
- Total military personnel: 76,600
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.0259 – #55 out of 145
- Military defense budget: $4,576,000,000 – #53 out of 145
16. Portugal
- Total air force personnel: 6,000
- Total army personnel: 11,000
- Total navy personnel: 7,000
- Active military personnel: 24,000
- Reserve military personnel: 211,700
- Paramilitary personnel: 24,700
- Total military personnel: 260,400
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.6856 – #39 out of 145
- Military defense budget: $4,627,000,000 – #52 out of 145
15. Belgium
- Total air force personnel: 6,500
- Total army personnel: 12,120
- Total navy personnel: 1,300
- Active military personnel: 25,000
- Reserve military personnel: 6,400
- Paramilitary personnel: 0
- Total military personnel: 31,400
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.2564 – #62 out of 145
- Military defense budget: $10,200,000,000 – #31 out of 145
14. Netherlands
- Total air force personnel: 6,540
- Total army personnel: 2,370
- Total navy personnel: 7,510
- Active military personnel: 41,380
- Reserve military personnel: 6,765
- Paramilitary personnel: 5,000
- Total military personnel: 53,145
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.6412 – #36 out of 145
- Military defense budget: $27,000,000,000 – #18 out of 145
13. Bulgaria
- Total air force personnel: 8,500
- Total army personnel: 17,000
- Total navy personnel: 4,450
- Active military personnel: 37,000
- Reserve military personnel: 3,000
- Paramilitary personnel: 0
- Total military personnel: 40,000
- Military strength score and world rank: 1.2563 – #61 out of 145
- Military defense budget: $1,373,232,000 – #80 out of 145
12. Romania
- Total air force personnel: 11,700
- Total army personnel: 35,500
- Total navy personnel: 6,800
- Active military personnel: 81,300
- Reserve military personnel: 55,000
- Paramilitary personnel: 15,000
- Total military personnel: 151,300
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.8984 – #51 out of 145
- Military defense budget: $9,700,000,000 – #33 out of 145
11. Canada
- Total air force personnel: 15,560
- Total army personnel: 44,000
- Total navy personnel: 16,300
- Active military personnel: 68,000
- Reserve military personnel: 27,000
- Paramilitary personnel: 5,500
- Total military personnel: 100,500
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.5179 – #28 out of 145
- Military defense budget: $41,000,000,000 – #15 out of 145
10. Poland
- Total air force personnel: 16,500
- Total army personnel: 100,000
- Total navy personnel: 12,350
- Active military personnel: 202,100
- Reserve military personnel: 350,000
- Paramilitary personnel: 50,000
- Total military personnel: 602,100
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.3776 – #22 out of 145
- Military defense budget: $48,700,000,000 – #12 out of 145
9. Spain
- Total air force personnel: 23,000
- Total army personnel: 75,825
- Total navy personnel: 20,840
- Active military personnel: 133,282
- Reserve military personnel: 15,150
- Paramilitary personnel: 78,470
- Total military personnel: 226,902
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.3242 – #17 out of 145
- Military defense budget: $23,397,000,000 – #22 out of 145
8. Germany
- Total air force personnel: 27,725
- Total army personnel: 62,800
- Total navy personnel: 16,500
- Active military personnel: 181,600
- Reserve military personnel: 34,000
- Paramilitary personnel: 0
- Total military personnel: 215,600
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.2601 – #14 out of 145
- Military defense budget: $50,000,000,000 – #11 out of 145
7. United Kingdom
- Total air force personnel: 34,790
- Total army personnel: 106,626
- Total navy personnel: 35,730
- Active military personnel: 184,860
- Reserve military personnel: 924,000
- Paramilitary personnel: 0
- Total military personnel: 1,108,860
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.1785 – #6 out of 145
- Military defense budget: $71,500,540,000 – #6 out of 145
6. France
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- Total air force personnel: 40,500
- Total army personnel: 141,600
- Total navy personnel: 44,000
- Active military personnel: 200,000
- Reserve military personnel: 26,000
- Paramilitary personnel: 150,000
- Total military personnel: 376,000
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.1878 – #8 out of 145
- Military defense budget: $55,000,000,000 – #9 out of 145
5. Finland
- Total air force personnel: 41,100
- Total army personnel: 42,000
- Total navy personnel: 16,000
- Active military personnel: 24,000
- Reserve military personnel: 870,000
- Paramilitary personnel: 53,800
- Total military personnel: 947,800
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.8437 – #48 out of 145
- Military defense budget: $6,779,661,000 – #42 out of 145
4. Greece
- Total air force personnel: 42,500
- Total army personnel: 200,000
- Total navy personnel: 30,000
- Active military personnel: 142,700
- Reserve military personnel: 221,350
- Paramilitary personnel: 55,000
- Total military personnel: 419,050
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.5337 – #30 out of 145
- Military defense budget: $6,500,000,000 – #44 out of 145
3. Italy
- Total air force personnel: 43,000
- Total army personnel: 100,000
- Total navy personnel: 31,000
- Active military personnel: 165,500
- Reserve military personnel: 18,500
- Paramilitary personnel: 105,000
- Total military personnel: 289,000
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.2164 – #10 out of 145
- Military defense budget: $30,890,000,000 – #16 out of 145
2. Turkey
- Total air force personnel: 115,000
- Total army personnel: 518,900
- Total navy personnel: 100,000
- Active military personnel: 355,200
- Reserve military personnel: 378,700
- Paramilitary personnel: 150,000
- Total military personnel: 883,900
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.1902 – #9 out of 145
- Military defense budget: $47,000,000,000 – #13 out of 145
1. United States
- Total air force personnel: 701,319
- Total army personnel: 1,403,200
- Total navy personnel: 667,108
- Active military personnel: 1,328,000
- Reserve military personnel: 799,500
- Paramilitary personnel: 0
- Total military personnel: 2,127,500
- Military strength score and world rank: 0.0744 – #1 out of 145
- Military defense budget: $895,000,000,000 – #1 out of 145
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