Over the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, attack helicopters have played an important role in determining how it has played out so far. Currently, Russia boasts the second largest fleet of attack helicopters in the world, second only to the United States, and it has tipped the scales of this conflict in Russia's favor. The importance of these attack helicopters cannot be understated. (These are the future military helicopters of the world.)
Combining various operational roles on the battlefield, attack helicopters are an important part of any strategy on the battlefield. These aircraft are capable of reconnaissance, some can transport troops, but all are capable of laying down heavy fire.
Here 24/7 Wall St. is taking a closer look at countries with the most helicopters that play combat roles. To determine the countries with the most attack 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 which countries have the most attack helicopters. We included 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.
The United States has the largest attack helicopter fleet in the world with a range of helicopters filling a wide variety of roles. Other NATO countries like Turkey and France rank relatively high on this list as well, each having sizable helicopter fleets. (These are the helicopters used in the Vietnam War.)
On the other hand, Russia and China fill out a few of the top spots on this list as perennial global superpowers. The military buildup in these countries over the last decade has seen a rise in the production of these military assets and there is no doubt that in the years to come there will be even more attack helicopters in their arsenals.
Here is a look at the countries with the largest fleets of attack helicopters:
32. Netherlands
Total attack helicopters: 21
Total helicopters: 66
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 52
Total military aircraft: 143
Military strength score:: 0.5644 - #40 out of 145
31. Kazakhstan
Total attack helicopters: 22
Total helicopters: 75
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 119
Total military aircraft: 243
Military strength score:: 0.9495 - #58 out of 145
30. Australia
Total attack helicopters: 22
Total helicopters: 79
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 84
Total military aircraft: 325
Military strength score:: 0.2515 - #16 out of 145
29. Qatar
Total attack helicopters: 24
Total helicopters: 67
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 98
Total military aircraft: 228
Military strength score:: 1.0789 - #63 out of 145
28. Belarus
Total attack helicopters: 25
Total helicopters: 64
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 88
Total military aircraft: 183
Military strength score:: 1.0901 - #64 out of 145
27. Syria
Total attack helicopters: 27
Total helicopters: 153
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 225
Total military aircraft: 452
Military strength score:: 1.0026 - #60 out of 145
26. Bahrain
Total attack helicopters: 28
Total helicopters: 74
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 18
Total military aircraft: 120
Military strength score:: 1.7163 - #86 out of 145
25. Greece
Total attack helicopters: 29
Total helicopters: 289
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 194
Total military aircraft: 632
Military strength score:: 0.4349 - #32 out of 145
24. United Arab Emirates
Total attack helicopters: 30
Total helicopters: 246
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 117
Total military aircraft: 560
Military strength score:: 0.8083 - #51 out of 145
23. Poland
Total attack helicopters: 30
Total helicopters: 215
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 93
Total military aircraft: 468
Military strength score:: 0.2917 - #21 out of 145
22. Uzbekistan
Total attack helicopters: 33
Total helicopters: 100
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 71
Total military aircraft: 191
Military strength score:: 1.1069 - #65 out of 145
21. Ukraine
Total attack helicopters: 33
Total helicopters: 130
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 102
Total military aircraft: 321
Military strength score:: 0.2598 - #18 out of 145
20. Saudi Arabia
Total attack helicopters: 34
Total helicopters: 262
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 364
Total military aircraft: 914
Military strength score:: 0.3235 - #23 out of 145
19. Sudan
Total attack helicopters: 35
Total helicopters: 64
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 77
Total military aircraft: 170
Military strength score:: 1.4119 - #76 out of 145
18. Iraq
Total attack helicopters: 40
Total helicopters: 197
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 61
Total military aircraft: 371
Military strength score:: 0.7441 - #45 out of 145
17. India
Total attack helicopters: 40
Total helicopters: 869
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 736
Total military aircraft: 2,296
Military strength score:: 0.1023 - #4 out of 145
16. Jordan
Total attack helicopters: 43
Total helicopters: 148
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 50
Total military aircraft: 265
Military strength score:: 1.4651 - #80 out of 145
15. Israel
Total attack helicopters: 48
Total helicopters: 146
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 280
Total military aircraft: 612
Military strength score:: 0.2596 - #17 out of 145
14. United Kingdom
Total attack helicopters: 52
Total helicopters: 276
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 149
Total military aircraft: 664
Military strength score:: 0.1443 - #6 out of 145
13. Germany
Total attack helicopters: 55
Total helicopters: 318
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 209
Total military aircraft: 618
Military strength score:: 0.2847 - #19 out of 145
12. Italy
Total attack helicopters: 57
Total helicopters: 402
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 157
Total military aircraft: 800
Military strength score:: 0.1863 - #10 out of 145
11. Pakistan
Total attack helicopters: 57
Total helicopters: 352
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 477
Total military aircraft: 1,434
Military strength score:: 0.1711 - #9 out of 145
10. France
Total attack helicopters: 69
Total helicopters: 447
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 224
Total military aircraft: 972
Military strength score:: 0.1878 - #11 out of 145
9. Algeria
Total attack helicopters: 75
Total helicopters: 298
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 144
Total military aircraft: 605
Military strength score:: 0.3589 - #26 out of 145
8. Taiwan
Total attack helicopters: 91
Total helicopters: 236
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 286
Total military aircraft: 750
Military strength score:: 0.3302 - #24 out of 145
7. Egypt
Total attack helicopters: 100
Total helicopters: 338
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 326
Total military aircraft: 1,080
Military strength score:: 0.2283 - #15 out of 145
6. Turkey
Total attack helicopters: 111
Total helicopters: 502
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 205
Total military aircraft: 1,069
Military strength score:: 0.1697 - #8 out of 145
5. South Korea
Total attack helicopters: 112
Total helicopters: 758
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 452
Total military aircraft: 1,576
Military strength score:: 0.1416 - #5 out of 145
4. Japan
Total attack helicopters: 119
Total helicopters: 577
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 253
Total military aircraft: 1,459
Military strength score:: 0.1601 - #7 out of 145
3. China
Total attack helicopters: 281
Total helicopters: 913
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 1,578
Total military aircraft: 3,304
Military strength score:: 0.0706 - #3 out of 145
2. Russia
Total attack helicopters: 559
Total helicopters: 1,547
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 1,539
Total military aircraft: 4,255
Military strength score:: 0.0702 - #2 out of 145
1. United States
Total attack helicopters: 1,000
Total helicopters: 5,737
Total fighter and attack aircraft: 2,750
Total military aircraft: 13,209
Military strength score:: 0.0699 - #1 out of 145.
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