Nations with the Largest Fleet of Military Helicopters

Special Report

Published: January 11, 2024 10:31 am

Helicopters have become indispensable in the modern military. They have unique capabilities and versatility in performing various tasks and operations, as well as the ability to take off and land vertically, which requires less space than an airplane. Ranging from search and rescue operations to swift transport of supplies, helicopters have also proven their worth in combat missions.

Several current conflicts use helicopters in their ongoing fight, from the United States in their exchange with Iran-backed Houthi crews in the Red Sea to Israel, which has two Apache helicopter flight squadrons in Gaza since the war with Hamas broke out. Then there is the campaign between Russia and Ukraine, one that has been a war of attrition with not much headway on either side.

While Russia continues to pummel Ukrainian cities with airstrikes, missiles, and drone attacks, Ukraine may have recently shot down a handful of Russian aircraft, including a few helicopters. Reports are conflicting about the reason they crashed, but either way, this is no doubt a significant blow. Assets such as fighter jets and helicopters are hard to come by – even for Russia. (Here is every plane in Russia’s air force.)

24/7 Wall St. reviewed Helicopter Fleet Strength by Country (2023) compiled by GlobalFirePower, an annually updated defense-related statistics website with information on 145 countries to determine the 21 countries with the largest helicopter fleets. Countries were ranked by the number of helicopters in their active military fleet. Supplemental information about the most common helicopter in each air force came from the 2023 report, World Air Forces, from FlightGlobal, an aviation and aerospace industry website. Military expenditure data for 2022 came from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Military Expenditure Database.

The United States leads the pack on this list with the most significant helicopter fleet in the entire world. The U.S. possesses over 5,500 helicopters that play several roles. Helicopters make up a sizable chunk of U.S. military aircraft, which already boasts the largest air force in the world.

Coming in second with a fleet of more than 1,500 helicopters is Russia. The Russian rotorcraft industry has consistently improved its capabilities, resulting in innovative and cutting-edge helicopter designs, such as the renowned Mi-8/17/171, which make up a considerable portion of its air force. This family of helicopters remains a popular choice among many countries worldwide.

China, which has just under 1,000 helicopters, has the third-largest fleet. China has been in a decade-long process of modernizing and updating its military. Still, the country’s most common helicopter remains the Russian Mi-17/171 aircraft.

It comes as no surprise that countries that spend more on their military tend to have larger helicopter fleets, and those with larger overall air forces tend to have much larger helicopter fleets. (These are the largest air forces in the world.) Ultimately, these nations’ sizable helicopter fleets demonstrate the importance of rotorcraft assets in modern military operations. The innovation and advancements in helicopter technology can help provide combat superiority and aid in disaster response.

Here are the nations with the largest fleet of military helicopters