The Aircraft That Don't Make Headlines: Tankers, Transports and Helicopters

Fighters get the attention, but the aircraft that make long-range air power possible are much less glamorous. Tankers keep fighters in the air, transports move troops and equipment, and helicopters do everything from evacuating casualties to hunting submarines. On these measures, the gap between the United States and every other country is wider than on any other.

Tankers: America’s hidden advantage

Aerial refuelling tankers (Global Firepower 2026)

#	Country	Tankers
1	🇺🇸 United States	610
2	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	22
3	🇷🇺 Russia	18
4	🇫🇷 France	15
5	🇮🇱 Israel	13
6	🇯🇵 Japan	10
7	🇨🇳 China	9
8	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	9
9	🇮🇹 Italy	8
10	🇹🇷 Turkey	7
11	🇮🇳 India	6
12	🇮🇷 Iran	6

The United States operates about 610 aerial refuelling tankers. The next-largest fleet in our dataset belongs to Saudi Arabia, with 22, followed by Russia with 18. China has 9.

Tankers matter because fighters have short ranges. Without refuelling, most combat jets can reach only a few hundred kilometres from base and fight briefly before turning back. With tankers, they can cross oceans, stay on patrol for hours and strike far from home. In any long-range conflict, such as one over Taiwan, tankers would be both essential to the US and a high-priority target for China.

Transports

Transport aircraft (Global Firepower 2026)

#	Country	Transports
1	🇺🇸 United States	917
2	🇷🇺 Russia	458
3	🇨🇳 China	287
4	🇮🇳 India	277
5	🇫🇷 France	118
6	🇧🇷 Brazil	107
7	🇮🇷 Iran	86
8	🇹🇷 Turkey	84
9	🇮🇩 Indonesia	73
10	🇵🇰 Pakistan	63
11	🇩🇪 Germany	55
12	🇯🇵 Japan	53

Transport aircraft carry troops, vehicles, supplies and aid. The US leads with 917, including heavy C-17s and C-5s that can carry tanks across the world. Russia (458), China (287) and India (277) follow. France (118) and Brazil (107) have notable fleets for their size; Brazil also builds its own military transport, the C-390.

Helicopters

Military helicopters, all types (Global Firepower 2026)

#	Country	Helicopters
1	🇺🇸 United States	5,913
2	🇷🇺 Russia	1,643
3	🇨🇳 China	1,007
4	🇰🇷 South Korea	827
5	🇮🇳 India	594
6	🇯🇵 Japan	583
7	🇹🇷 Turkey	509
8	🇫🇷 France	452
9	🇵🇰 Pakistan	379
10	🇮🇹 Italy	352
11	🇪🇬 Egypt	348
12	🇩🇪 Germany	292

Helicopters make up nearly half of America’s entire military aircraft fleet: about 5,913 machines. The US Army alone operates thousands. Russia (1,643) and China (1,007) are next, then South Korea (827), whose army relies heavily on helicopters for mobility in its mountainous terrain.

Attack helicopters

Among helicopters, attack types like the AH-64 Apache and Russia’s Ka-52 are built to destroy tanks and support ground troops. The US has about 1,024, Russia 556 and China 281. The war in Ukraine has shown both their value and their vulnerability: attack helicopters have been effective at ambushing armoured columns from a distance, but many have been lost to portable air-defence missiles and drones.

The bigger point

A country can buy fighters relatively quickly. Building the supporting fleet of tankers, transports, early-warning aircraft and helicopters, along with the training and logistics to use them together, takes decades and enormous sums of money. That supporting structure is a large part of why the United States ranks first in Global Firepower’s index by a clear margin.