Top 5: The World’s Largest Air Forces By Total Military Aircraft Numbers

Air forces around the world are built for different missions – the US Air Force has around 75% of the world’s aerial tanker fleet as it is built for power projection (most air forces are designed for defense). While the number of aircraft in an air force does not, of itself, dictate how capable an air force is, it is still a factor worth considering. The following are the aircraft totals per air force according to FlightGlobal’s 2024 World Air Forces report. According to the publication, there are around 53,401 military aircraft in the world today.