The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) recently added a new member in the last month, Sweden. With this addition, the alliance grows stronger allowing Sweden’s sizable navy and other military assets to be at the disposal of NATO. While naval power is an important facet of NATO’s forces, the combined air forces of these member nations is monumental. (These are the NATO countries with the strongest militaries.)
Logistical aircraft like transports and tankers may be common among NATO aircraft but combat aircraft and helicopters fill out a large portion of its ranks. The United States military might have the most aircraft in the world, but other member nations of NATO have sizable fleets as well and they are only getting larger.
Here 24/7 Wall St. is looking at NATO members who are purchasing the most military aircraft. To determine the NATO countries buying the most military aircraft, 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 countries were ordering the most military aircraft in total. We included supplemental information from GlobalFirePower regarding each country’s current air force and overall military strength ranking. We excluded countries that are not in the process of ordering military aircraft.
One of the most popular aircraft on order by member states of NATO is the F-35 Lightning II, manufactured by Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. Hundreds of these aircraft are on order as NATO members are looking to stock up on the next generation of fighter jets. (These are the countries buying the most F-35 fighter jets.)
Operationally, the F-35 is one of the most versatile aircraft on the market. It can act as an interceptor or strike fighter as well as perform covert reconnaissance missions with its advanced stealth technology. While the Lightning II is only one of the aircraft NATO forces are buying, there are hundreds more aircraft that will fill a series of roles within any NATO country’s military forces.
Here is a look at the NATO countries buying the most military aircraft:
25. Latvia
Source: usairforce / Flickr
- Military aircraft on order: 1
- Types of aircraft on order: S-70/UH-40M
- Total military aircraft: 7
- Total attack aircraft: 0
- Total helicopters: 7
- Military strength score: 1.9911 – #99 out of 145
24. Lithuania
Source: dvids / Flickr
- Military aircraft on order: 6
- Types of aircraft on order: S-70/UH-60M
- Total military aircraft: 9
- Total attack aircraft: 0
- Total helicopters: 4
- Military strength score: 1.7395 – #88 out of 145
23. Slovenia
Source: 39955793@N07 / Flickr
- Military aircraft on order: 8
- Types of aircraft on order: AW139M
- Total military aircraft: 38
- Total attack aircraft: 0
- Total helicopters: 12
- Military strength score: 1.8286 – #91 out of 145
22. Croatia
Source: usarmyeurope_images / Flickr
- Military aircraft on order: 12
- Types of aircraft on order: Rafale
- Total military aircraft: 81
- Total attack aircraft: 0
- Total helicopters: 52
- Military strength score: 1.1333 – #66 out of 145
21. Denmark
Source: my_public_domain_photos / Flickr
- Military aircraft on order: 17
- Types of aircraft on order: F-35A
- Total military aircraft: 119
- Total attack aircraft: 4
- Total helicopters: 34
- Military strength score: 0.7743 – #48 out of 145
20. Bulgaria
Source: usarmyeurope_images / Flickr
- Military aircraft on order: 18
- Types of aircraft on order: F-16V, H215m/AS532
- Total military aircraft: 65
- Total attack aircraft: 5
- Total helicopters: 27
- Military strength score: 1.0132 – #62 out of 145
19. Norway
Source: ajw1970 / Flickr
- Military aircraft on order: 25
- Types of aircraft on order: F-35A, S-70, AW101
- Total military aircraft: 102
- Total attack aircraft: 30
- Total helicopters: 37
- Military strength score: 0.5664 – #41 out of 145
18. Slovakia
Source: slezo / Flickr
- Military aircraft on order: 26
- Types of aircraft on order: AH-1Z, F-16V
- Total military aircraft: 37
- Total attack aircraft: 0
- Total helicopters: 22
- Military strength score: 1.1891 – #69 out of 145
17. Hungary
Source: Jozsef Soos / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Military aircraft on order: 28
- Types of aircraft on order: H225M, L-39NG
- Total military aircraft: 62
- Total attack aircraft: 0
- Total helicopters: 38
- Military strength score: 0.8478 – #54 out of 145
16. Belgium
Source: david_e_smith / Flickr
- Military aircraft on order: 35
- Types of aircraft on order: A400M, F-35A
- Total military aircraft: 110
- Total attack aircraft: 0
- Total helicopters: 20
- Military strength score: 1.2064 – #70 out of 145
15. Netherlands
Source: milchcow_peng / Flickr
- Military aircraft on order: 37
- Types of aircraft on order: F-35A, H225M
- Total military aircraft: 143
- Total attack aircraft: 26
- Total helicopters: 66
- Military strength score: 0.5644 – #40 out of 145
14. Czechia
Source: VanderWolf-Images / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Military aircraft on order: 51
- Types of aircraft on order: AH-1Z, F-35A, UH-1Y
- Total military aircraft: 88
- Total attack aircraft: 16
- Total helicopters: 33
- Military strength score: 0.7706 – #46 out of 145
13. Finland
Source: sagesolar / Flickr
- Military aircraft on order: 64
- Types of aircraft on order: F-35A
- Total military aircraft: 164
- Total attack aircraft: 0
- Total helicopters: 27
- Military strength score: 0.7967 – #50 out of 145
12. Greece
Source: my_public_domain_photos / Flickr
- Military aircraft on order: 74
- Types of aircraft on order: Rafale, S-70, NH90
- Total military aircraft: 632
- Total attack aircraft: 0
- Total helicopters: 289
- Military strength score: 0.4349 – #32 out of 145
11. Sweden
Source: dynasoar / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
- Military aircraft on order: 77
- Types of aircraft on order: Gripen E
- Total military aircraft: 212
- Total attack aircraft: 0
- Total helicopters: 53
- Military strength score: 0.4009 – #29 out of 145
10. Spain
Source: pablorebo1984 / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Military aircraft on order: 123
- Types of aircraft on order: Eurofighter, NH90, S-70
- Total military aircraft: 513
- Total attack aircraft: 12
- Total helicopters: 121
- Military strength score: 0.2882 – #20 out of 145
9. Canada
- Military aircraft on order: 127
- Types of aircraft on order: F-35, S-92, AW101
- Total military aircraft: 375
- Total attack aircraft: 0
- Total helicopters: 143
- Military strength score: 0.3813 – #27 out of 145
8. United Kingdom
- Military aircraft on order: 136
- Types of aircraft on order: AH-64, CH-47, F-35B
- Total military aircraft: 664
- Total attack aircraft: 29
- Total helicopters: 276
- Military strength score: 0.1443 – #6 out of 145
7. Romania
- Military aircraft on order: 140
- Types of aircraft on order: AH-1z, F-16A, F-35A
- Total military aircraft: 131
- Total attack aircraft: 0
- Total helicopters: 67
- Military strength score: 0.7712 – #47 out of 145
6. Italy
Source: sagesolar / Flickr
- Military aircraft on order: 177
- Types of aircraft on order: AW101, AW249, F-35A/B
- Total military aircraft: 800
- Total attack aircraft: 67
- Total helicopters: 402
- Military strength score: 0.1863 – #10 out of 145
5. Germany
Source: Robert Sullivan / Public Domain / Flickr
- Military aircraft on order: 187
- Types of aircraft on order: Eurofighter, F-35A
- Total military aircraft: 618
- Total attack aircraft: 76
- Total helicopters: 318
- Military strength score: 0.2847 – #19 out of 145
4. Poland
Source: my_public_domain_photos / Flickr
- Military aircraft on order: 238
- Types of aircraft on order: AH-64, AW101, F-35A
- Total military aircraft: 468
- Total attack aircraft: 34
- Total helicopters: 215
- Military strength score: 0.2917 – #21 out of 145
3. Turkey
Source: cooke1 / Flickr
- Military aircraft on order: 246
- Types of aircraft on order: Hurkus C, S/T-70
- Total military aircraft: 1,069
- Total attack aircraft: 0
- Total helicopters: 502
- Military strength score: 0.1697 – #8 out of 145
2. France
Source: VanderWolf-Images / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Military aircraft on order: 377
- Types of aircraft on order: H160, H225M, Rafale
- Total military aircraft: 972
- Total attack aircraft: 0
- Total helicopters: 447
- Military strength score: 0.1878 – #11 out of 145
1. United States
Source: Robert Sullivan / Public Domain / Flickr
- Military aircraft on order: 3,921
- Types of aircraft on order: AH-64, F-35, S-70
- Total military aircraft: 13,209
- Total attack aircraft: 896
- Total helicopters: 5,737
- Military strength score: 0.0699 – #1 out of 145
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