What Is the Weakest Air Force in the World?

What is the weakest air force in the world? There is no easy way to answer that question, as many countries lack air forces entirely or have only a limited number of civilian-type aircraft in service. Still, this article will discuss some air forces and why they are weak. While Iran, North Korea, and Cuba may have aging museum air forces (relics of once-powerful air forces), they are neither the smallest nor the weakest in the world. At the other end, the most powerful air force is generally considered the US Air Force, followed by the US Navy/Marine Corps air arms.

Smallest air forces

Many countries in the world completely lack air forces entirely - including NATO member Iceland (which doesn't even have an army). But these can't be considered the smallest air forces by virtue of not being air forces.

Photo: Ragnhild&Neil Crawford - Flickr

Perhaps the smallest air force in the world is the air force of the Caribbean island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, which has a single Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander. The BN-2 is a light utility British aircraft and regional airliner that can normally accommodate one pilot and up to nine passengers.

Example countries with no air forces:

• Iceland

• Nauru

• Andorra

• Saint Lucia

• Kingdom of Tonga

The Luxemburg Air Force possesses a single aircraft-ironically, it's the largest military aircraft in production by European nations-the Airbus A400M. Luxemburg doesn't even have a place to put the aircraft, so it is based in neighboring Belgium. In addition, the Luxemburg Air Force has a few small drones and a couple of light helicopters for policing operations.

Photo: Airbus

The small West African nation of The Gambia had what would have been the smallest combat wing of an air force in the world-a single Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot. However, according to FlightGlobal, it was retired in the publication's 2024 edition.

Excluding microstates (like San Marino) and impoverished states (like Moldova), Ireland stands out has having perhaps the weakest air force in Europe. With a population of 5.2 million and a nominal GDP of around $550 billion, it is comparable to the Nordic countries Finland, Denmark, Sweden, and even Norway (all of which have notable air forces). And yet, Ireland completely lacks a combat fleet or any jet aircraft whatsoever. The Irish Air Force only has a personnel strength of 711 people. According to the Irish Examiner, the Irish Air Corps should have a strength of 886, but it only has 638 personnel.

The biggest weakest air force

The weakest large air force could be North Korea. According to FlightGlobal, North Korea has a whopping 572 combat aircraft - the fifth most in the world and more than its South Korean neighbor.

However, these are all uniformly old and obsolete aircraft, with an unknown number being airworthy - let alone combat-worthy. The oldest of the jets date from the end of the Korean War, while the newest are Su-25s and MiG-29s, which were received just before the collapse of the USSR (North Korea has not received new jets since then).

Old jets may be sufficient if the adversary is an insurgent group lacking air defense (like in Mali and Myanmar) or a civil war (like in Ethiopia and Sudan) where the warring parties are equally low-tech. However, North Korea's adversaries are South Korea, the United States, and Japan - all equipped with the latest 5th and 4.5th generation fighters (meaning North Korea's Air Force resembles more a collection of training targets than a real threat).

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Chile has one of the more capable air forces in the region although Brazil has many light combat aircraft and is purchasing modern fighters.

The most under-performing air force

While certainly not a weak or small air force, the Russian Air Force deserves a mention as a paper tiger. The Russian Air Force positioned itself as the world's second air force (after the United States Air Force). But its performance in Ukraine has been abysmal, and some commentators say the Russian Air Force's inability to establish air superiority over Ukraine cost them the war.

Photo: Mikhalis Makarov l Shutterstock

Russian Air Force losses in the Ukraine War (including non-combat losses):

• Fixed-wing aircraft: 130 (including 15 damaged)

• Rotary-wing aircraft: 145 (including 30 damaged)

• Worn out: Unknown hundreds likely used up remaining flight hours from wartime use

• Production rate: 22-50 fixed-wing combat aircraft

The war will soon have been raging for three years and the Russian Air Force has been unable to pick Ukrainian air defenses apart and has been unable to establish any air superiority over Ukraine beyond the frontline. No Russian jets fly over Kyiv or anywhere deep in Ukraine - instead they are mostly lobbing glide bombs from the sidelines beyond Ukrainian air defense.

"The bottom line is that the VKS [Russian Air Force] has often been ineffective, not inactive." - IISS

While FlightGlobal lists Russia as having 1,539 combat aircraft, this is based on prewar numbers. Many are likely to be unserviceable, and it has been suggested that Russia may be down as much as 25% - mostly due to wartime wear and tear using up remaining old airframes' flight hours and Russia's inability to ramp up fighter jet production to replace losses.