13 Militaries With The Most Helicopters In Service, Ranked

When the topic of air forces comes up, most discussions will likely focus on the fancy, high-tech fighter jets and stealth bombers behind headline-grabbing feats, such as the B-2 Spirits that dropped the 30,000-pound bunker buster bombs on Iran in June 2025. But while they — and upcoming aircraft like the U.S.'s 6th-generation F-47 fighter — may be the highlights, it's the combat helicopters of the world that serve as the backbone for most militaries.

How so, you ask? According to numbers from FlightGlobal's 2025 World Air Forces director, many of the countries with the largest military fleets, such as the U.S., South Korea, and India, have more combat helicopters than combat aircraft. The United States, for example, has just over double the number of combat choppers as it does combat aircraft. India and South Korea also have more choppers than aircraft, although the balance is much closer for both of those smaller nations. Let's take a look at world militaries with a large contingent of combat helicopters and see where all the familiar names rank, drawing on the numbers provided in the aforementioned 2025 World Air Forces directory.

Germany may be a political powerhouse within the European Union, but its helicopter count isn't quite up there with some of its fellow member states, like France and Italy. That said, it still has enough to sneak into our top 13, although it's one of only two nations with fewer than 300 active combat choppers.

The European nation's 278-strong squadron of combat choppers is split between the German Army, German Air Force, and German Navy, in descending order of size. Somewhat pleasingly — purely from a numbers perspective, of course — the two former branches have 81 each of the Sikorsky CH-53G (and derivatives) and the NATO-standard NHIndustries NH90 in its tactical transport configuration. Germany also has another European chopper in the form of the Eurocopter (now Airbus) Tiger, with 54 flying for the German Army.

Germany's chopper numbers look likely to swell soon, with 82 Airbus H145s on order to complement the seven already flying. The German Air Force also has 60 examples of the storied Boeing CH-47F Chinook incoming, part of the Air Force's program to modernize its heavy-lift helicopter fleet.

Algeria joins Germany in the under-300 club, although the European nation is likely going to break past that threshold sometime in the immediate future. Algeria, on the other hand, looks like it'll stay on 299 combat helicopters for a while yet, given that the World Air Forces directory doesn't list the nation's air force or navy as having any combat helicopters on order.

But let's not worry too much about what the future holds for the North African nation and focus on what it has in its arsenal right now. Algeria flies a decent variety of choppers, with 12 different models listed in the directory. Most popular — and this will be a trend — is the Mil Mi-8 and its variants, the Mi-17 and Mi-171.

These tenured choppers account for nearly half of Algeria's numbers, with 140 at the beck and call of the Algerian Air Force. It's also the only combat chopper that Algeria has more than 50 of, with the next-closest being the 32 examples of the Mil Mi-24 attached to that same branch of the Algerian military.

Pakistan has one of the largest military fleets overall in the world, its 1,399 aircraft of all types making up 3% of the world's total according to the World Air Forces directory. However, the Commonwealth nation is one of the few nations on this list with fewer choppers than combat aircraft, its 321 examples of the former trailing the 418 of the latter.

The vast majority of those 321 combat choppers belong to the Pakistani Army, which has 254 of them. As you may expect, the ever-popular Mil Mi-8 family of choppers is one of the most common there, with 50 of them flying for the nation's army. It shares top spot with the Bell AH-1F Cobra, an updated version of the AH-1 from 1967, which was in itself a descendant of the iconic Vietnam War-era UH-1 chopper, better known as the Huey. The 50-strong contingent of the latter is a significant increase from the 20 units it had in 2018. In terms of future additions, the World Air Forces directory notes that the nation has 30 units of the Turkish-Italian T129 multi-role combat chopper on order.

Egypt is the aviation powerhouse of the MENA region, with its 348 choppers accounting for around 22% of the total number of combat helicopters present in the Middle East. All 348 belong to the Egyptian Air Force, which flies 14 different models. The two most represented models are the Mil Mi-8 and Mi-17, with 62 units, and the French-made Aérospatiale Gazelle (SA 341 or SA 342), of which the nation has 89.

Egypt also has 46 each of the Apache AH-64D and Russian Kamov Ka-52, two ostensible rivals for the title of top attack chopper. It's the only nation other than Russia to fly the Ka-52 Alligator, which gives it the complementary honor of being the only military to fly both of these attack helicopters.

Generally, Egypt isn't afraid to mix and match, with the Ka-52 and Mi-8 flying alongside products more commonly associated with the United States and its allies, such as the aforementioned Apache and the Boeing CH-47F Chinook. For the record, the Egyptian Air Force has 19 of the latter, with 12 on order.

Sneaking just ahead of Egypt in the rankings is Italy, the final nation on our list to have a chopper contingent below the 400-unit mark. The Mediterranean nation's 350 choppers are split between the Italian Air Force, Army, and Navy, with 208 of them assigned to the Italian Army.

Italy is no stranger to aircraft manufacturing, with Italian firm Agusta known for building choppers like the Apache-rivaling A129 Mangusta. We won't go too deep into the ownership and name changes Agusta has been involved in, but know that Italy currently flies the AW101 (30), AW129 (37), and AW139 (31), with 48 AW249s and a couple of AW169Ms on order (both for the Italian Army). All of these, bar the AW129, are currently built by the Italian firm Leonardo.

For what it's worth, the long-lived AW129 doesn't even get its own page on Leonardo's website, likely because the AW249 is taking its place as part of Italy's attempt to update its fleet. Speaking of updating, Italy is also among the few nations on this list that still flies the venerable Bell 205. That said, it's slowly phasing out the 205, having integrated its replacement, the NH-90, into its ranks in 2020.

We make the biggest leap in chopper numbers so far, with France having an 80-chopper advantage over its fellow EU member Italy, with 430 choppers to the latter's 350. Just like Italy, France's fleet has a tinge of national pride to it. The nation flies 104 of the French Army-spec Aérospatiale Gazelle SA342 and 16 Aérospatiale SA330s, alongside a range of choppers from Airbus Helicopters SAS, which has a strong presence in the country.

The 104 SA342s are the most common choppers in the French military, with all 104 operated by the French Army. Other common combat helicopters in the current fleet include the Airbus NH90, with 62 active and another 18 on order — all in the tactical transport configuration. All three branches of the French military — the Air and Space Force, the French Army, and the French Navy — will also be receiving Airbus H160Ms soon. The directory lists each branch as having 40, 80, and 49 examples of the new light helicopter on order, respectively, to replace five separate choppers currently in use.

Fans of properly vintage choppers rejoice, for Turkey is one of the two nations on this list that still has Bell UH-1Hs flying in its active fleet. It's not just making up the numbers, either; the Turkish Army has 86 of the U.S.'s workhorse Vietnam War chopper, while the Turkish Air Force has a still-credible 56. They're the most common choppers in both of those branches, which is no mean feat for such an old hand.

Not that the AH-1 is the only version of Bell's iconic chopper to fly for the Turks, either: the Turkish Army also flies 68 Bell 205s, although it's limited to the Army this time around. The AH-1 will soon lose its status as the most common chopper in the Turkish Army, however, as the World Air Forces directory indicates that the nation is adding 41 of the Turkish Aerospace-developed T129 attack choppers to the 58 it already flies.

A fun little tidbit: the Turkish Police also flies the T129, although it's not for dealing with everyday crimes. Instead, the police T129s were intended to be part of counter-terrorism operations in the nation's southeast, at least as of 2021 (when they were first announced).

From a nation with just under 500 choppers, we jump up to one with just under 600, and the first of three Far East nations on this list: Japan. The island nation's 581 choppers make up around 40% of its total military fleet of 1,443 aircraft. Of those 581, 377 are part of the Japan Ground Self-Defence Force (JGSDF), with 377 combat choppers according to the World Air Forces directory. The nation's maritime branch, the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force, comes in second, with 130 choppers, while the Japan Air Self-Defence Force's 74 combat choppers bring up the rear.

As of 2025, the Japanese-built Fuji-Bell UH-1J — made under license by Fuji Heavy Industries in the mid-to-late 1990s — is the most prevalent single chopper in the JGSDF, with 126 units. However, that's not going to be for long, as the Fuji-Bell UH-X, based on the Bell 412, has started replacing it as of 2021. The JGSDF only has 10 UH-Xs at the time of writing, but FlightGlobal lists 140 more on order that will undoubtedly slowly enter service over the next few years. Japan also has 214 units of the Sikorsky S-70 and variants, split between the three branches.

Japan's Asian neighbor South Korea may be best known for its world-dominating K-pop stars and tech companies, but the nation has also invested heavily in its military, with cutting-edge examples such as the K2 Black Panther tank showcasing its prowess in military technology. South Korea's total airborne military fleet is second only to China in the region, with its 1,592 aircraft making for a 3% share of the military aircraft in service worldwide. 413 of those are combat planes, which actually puts South Korea behind its northern neighbor. 

But South Korea beats North Korea — and most nations — when it comes to combat helicopters, with a good variety of them flying for the nation's four military branches. Interestingly, the nation accounts for nearly half of all MD Helicopters MD500s in active duty, with 251 out of the 550 MD500 and MD530s worldwide flying for the Korean military. But as with many old choppers, the MD500's days are numbered: 200 of the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) Light Attack Helicopter are on order, as are 103 Surion KUH-1s — also from KAI — to complement the 150 that the Republic of Korea Army already flies.

India is one of the most populous nations in the world, and so it stands to reason that it would also have a pretty strong military. And you'd be right for assuming so, although its numbers perhaps aren't quite as high as you might expect — albeit still enough to place it in the upper echelons of this list.

India's 885 choppers put it just out of the top three, although it's not that far behind the nation in third. But let's not get ahead of ourselves here. India is one of the few nations to fly only the Mil Mi-17 without any Mi-8s in its ranks. The 222 Mi-17s also make the Russian chopper one of the top dogs as far as the nation's combat helicopter numbers are concerned.

But the Russian export has to take a back seat to one of India's own, the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Dhruv and its attack variant, the Rudra. The Indian Air Force and Indian Army Aviation have 111 and 225, respectively, with 63 expected to join the latter soon. It's worth noting that the directory combines Dhruv and Rudra numbers for both branches, while the Indian Navy is listed as having 24 Dhruvs specifically.

We enter the top three, and you're probably not going to be at all shocked by the nations that occupy the very highest spots on this list. On the lowest step of the podium is the United States' contemporary bugbear, China, which has 913 combat helicopters flying for its air, ground, and maritime forces.

Those 913 combat choppers make up a healthy 27% or so of the nation's 3,309-strong air fleet, with Chinese-made products dominating the nation's helicopter fleet. The Ground Force is the most well-equipped with choppers, with a range of Chinese aircraft, including 175 Z-19s and 106 Z-10 attack helicopters. However, a few Russian-made combat choppers, including the Mil Mi-17 and Mi-171 choppers, of which the People's Liberation Army Ground Force has 242, complement the Chinese products. 

The Mi-17 and Mi-171 aren't the only Russian helicopters flying for China, with the Ka-27 and Ka-28 also breaking up the reliance on local offerings. The Ground Force also has 23 Sikorsky S-70s, which allegedly served as inspiration for the nation's new stealth helicopter, the Z-20.

We're into the proper big leagues here, with second-placed Russia being one of only two countries in the world to have more than 1,000 choppers in its service. Russia's 1,543 combat helicopters make up a cool 8% of all the combat helicopters active worldwide, and the total sits in close balance with its squadron of combat aircraft, which FlightGlobal pegs at 1.522.

As is the trend with our top three nations, Russia relies heavily on national designs for its helicopters, with Kamov and Mil offerings dominating the World Air Forces directory. The only exception is the Eurocopter AS355, five of which the Russian defence ministry purchased in the early 2010s. Only two of the five remain, however.

The Mil Mi-8/17/171 helicopter family is Russia's preferred helicopter as of 2025, with 777 in the service of the Russian Air Force. A close second are the Mil Mi-24 and its Mi-35 export variant, of which Russia has 325. Russia has 10 more Mi-8s on order, although news reports from early July indicate that the nation has begun developing a replacement for the 60-plus-year-old chopper. The upcoming helicopter, called the Mi-80, is expected to replace the Mi-8 fleet by 2030.

The United States has the largest air force in the world, so it's no surprise that it also has the most helicopters in service out of all the world's nations. What may surprise you is by how much, with the U.S.' 5,547 choppers dwarfing Russia's 1,543 units. If that wasn't crazy enough, those 5,547 choppers are double the number of combat aircraft the U.S. flies, which stands at 2,679 as of the 2025 World Air Forces report.

The most common helicopter in the U.S. military fleet is the long-lived Sikorsky Black Hawk family of choppers. The Black Hawk entered service in 1979 and is expected to be part of the United States' airborne fleet until 2054. It's particularly popular with the U.S. Army, which has 2,276 of the choppers, with another 245 on order as of the report's publication. 

The Air Force and Navy also fly the Black Hawk helicopters, but neither of those branches has nearly as many as the U.S. Army. Lest you think the U.S. is a one-trick pony, though, it's worth pointing out that, even if we were to remove all Black Hawks overnight, all of the nation's military branches combined would still have more choppers (2,724) than Russia and China combined.

We based our list entirely on the numbers provided in FlightGlobal's 2025 World Air Forces directory, limiting ourselves to active combat helicopters in each nation's fleet at the time of publication. The directory, which utilizes data from aviation analytics firm Cirium, also provides numbers for aircraft a nation has on order, but we opted not to include them in the total tally. 

However, as you will have noticed if you've gone through our list, we did occasionally mention some notable orders, especially if the new choppers are replacing in-service models that are themselves quite notable. The FlightGlobal directory also includes numbers for each nation's training helicopters and aircraft, but we decided to leave training helicopters out of the total reckoning entirely — even in situations where a country uses the same models in training and combat roles.