Helicopters have now become indispensable aircraft for the fleets of modern armies. Rotary-wing vehicles had a real positive revaluation following the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine. In fact, although it has one of the most powerful air forces in the world, Moscow has preferred not to put its jewels at risk against Western portable anti-aircraft systems, preferring to wage a war of attrition.

To date, the United States has the largest fleet of military helicopters in the world: there are 5,584 (out of a total of 13,300 Air Force aircraft). The most common rotary-wing aircraft is the Black Hawk, designed for air combat, of which 2312 examples are in service. Overall, the management of these flying weapons involves a cost of approximately 876.9 billion dollars (2022 data).

In second place, we find Russia with a helicopter fleet made up of 1531 units (in total there are 4182 Air Force aircraft). The most commonly used rotary wing aircraft are the Mil Mi-8, the Mi-17 and the Mi-171. Overall, the management of these means of the armed force of the skies involves expenses equal to 86.4 billion dollars (data referring to 2022).

China follows in third place with a fleet of military helicopters amounting to 913 examples (out of 3166 Air Force aircraft); India is fourth with 807 rotary-wing aircraft (out of 2210 Air Force aircraft); in fifth position is South Korea with 739 helicopters (out of a total of 1602 air force vehicles and drones). This ranking is the result of data from analysts at GlobalFirePower and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri).