10 African countries with the largest military aircraft fleets in 2024.

Military aircraft have been a fundamental part of military power since the mid-20th century. In Africa, these aircraft have become indispensable assets for the continent's security architecture, providing essential capabilities for defence, peacekeeping, surveillance, and humanitaria

In an earlier piece, we explored the military strength of 10 African countries in 2024 based on Global Firepower's assessment. The index ranks 145 nations' militaries, weighing various factors like the volume of sophistication of its equipment, finances, geography, and resources.

However, military assessment extends beyond just strength. We also covered each country's annual defence spending and how important the budget is in the maintenance and procurement of military equipment including tanks, ammunitions, and aircraft.

Notably, within the military aviation space, some African nations stand out for their impressive fleet of aircraft, ranging from fighters and bombers to transport planes and helicopters.

Egypt is renowned for having one of the most formidable air forces on the continent, boasting a stock of 1080 aircraft according to a report by the Global Firepower. Algeria and Angola follow with 605 and 297 aircraft stock respectively.

According to the report, fixed wing and rotary-wing (helicopters) aircraft types are factored in from all branches of service (Air Force, Army Aviation, Navy, Marine). Various aircraft types also taken into account are fighters (multirole, interceptors), trainers (basic, advanced), transports (fixed-wing and helicopters), dedicated bombers and ground attackers, special-mission platforms, and more.

However, aircraft currently under development or on order heading into the upcoming year are not included in the evaluation.

RankCountryAircraft stockGlobal Rank
1Egypt10808
2Algeria60520
3Angola29734
4Morocco25539
5South Africa19449
6Sudan17053
7Kenya15855
8Tunisia15556
9Nigeria14757
10Libya13262

Bigboss Label

48 Blog posts

Comments