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Box 301 · 6032 Emmen Tel. +41 41 268 41 11 · Fax +41 41 260 25 88 · [email protected] · www.ruag.com WORLD AIR FORCES 2011/2012 CONTENT ANALYSIS 4 Worldwide active fleet per region 5 Worldwide active fleet share per country 6 Worldwide top 10 active aircraft types 8 WORLD AIR FORCES World Air Forces directory 9 TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT FLIGHTGLOBAL INSIGHT AND REPORT SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES, CONTACT: Flightglobal Insight Quadrant House, The Quadrant Sutton, Surrey, SM2 5AS, UK Tel: + 44 208 652 8724 Email:LQVLJKW#ÁLJKWJOREDOFRP Website: ZZZÁLJKWJOREDOFRPLQVLJKt World Air Forces 2011/2012 | Flightglobal Insight | 3 WORLD AIR FORCES 2011/2012 The French and Qatari air forces deployed Mirage 2000-5s for the fight over Libya JOINT RESPONSE Air arms around the world reacted to multiple challenges during 2011, despite fleet and budget cuts. We list the current inventories and procurement plans of 160 nations. CRAIG HOYLE LONDON DATA COMPILED BY SANDRA LEWIS-RICE, MARTIN SMITH & JON UNDERDOWN FLIGHTGLOBAL MILICAS & HELICAS RUGBY n action-packed 2011 saw air power the banner “Odyssey Dawn”, the United arose for some participants, such as the UAE’s put to the test across its full spec- Nations-backed campaign to protect Libyan Lockheed Martin F-16E/Fs. And with no ac- trum of activities, from all-out con- civilians from persecution also benefitted knowledged coalition forces on the ground, A flict and clandestine cross-border from the involvement of several members the task of identifying rebel forces from re- raids to flying humanitarian relief missions in of the Arab League. NATO took full command gime troops was also testing. the wake of natural disasters. of the activity from 31 March, with its For once, the main defence headlines of the “Unified Protector” mission eventually last- COMBAT FOCUS year were not driven by coalition action in Af- ing for seven months and totalling more than While the USA stepped back from playing the ghanistan or Iraq, but the result of the “Arab 26,300 sorties. lead role over Libya following its provision of Spring” movement that swept through Mid- Libya provided an unusual test for partici- early and intense strikes against Gaddafi’s forc- dle Eastern and North African nations, bring- pating nations. While the assembled force of es and infrastructure, it did continue to deliver ing unrest and political upheaval. fighters from players such as Canada, France, key support via the allocation of tankers and While regime change was brought about in Qatar, Spain, the United Arab Emirates and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance Egypt without the major involvement of the the UK allocated to enforce a no-fly zone over aircraft: both of which are still in short supply local military in support of then-president the country provided sufficient threat to keep among its allies. Hosni Mubarak, the national movement to any pro-Gaddafi aircraft on the ground, the Washington’s main focus remained in oust Col Muammar Gaddafi from more than long distances involved in operating from fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, and also four decades of power in Libya was a longer bases throughout the Mediterranean delivered in targeting its senior leadership in neighbour- and more bloody experience. Initially led by a logistical challenge. Command and control, ing Pakistan, and also further afield in nations the US armed forces from mid-March under targeting and communication issues also such as Yemen. On 2 May, its decade-long ac- 4 | Flightglobal Insight | World Air Forces 2011/2012 WORLD AIR FORCES 2011/2012 WORLDWIDE ACTIVE FLEET PER REGION ombat airc 2400 NORTH A ombat helic Combat a ansports/T Combat h 1 Transport 7 AFRICA ASIA-PACIFIC Combat air Combat aircraft 4,8 SOUTH AMERICA Combat he Combat helicopters 4,3 Combat aircraft Transports/ Transports/Tankers 8 Combat helicopter Transports/Tankers Pic credit French Air Force French tion to locate Osama bin Laden was finally approximately 2,000 airframes since last year. ended when he was killed during a special Ukraine is reported to now More than one-third of this reduction can be forces raid on a compound in Abbottabad, Pa- have around 300 fewer RSK attributed to improved data, which has al- kistan. A tantalising glimpse of the USA’s ad- lowed a combined 850 obsolete Harbin H-5 vances into the world of stealthy rotorcraft MiG-29 and Sukhoi Su-24 and Nanchang Q-5 combat aircraft to be de- was provided after one of its helicopters strike aircraft in use than leted from the inventories of the Chinese air crashed during the troop insertion. previously listed force and navy. While the bulk of the aircraft – believed to Another significant contributor has been have been a heavily modified Sikorsky UH-60 the coalition and rebel action which de- Black Hawk – was destroyed, its tail structure stroyed or disabled a large amount of the survived intact. former Libyan Arab Air Force’s fleet. Meanwhile, in addition to supporting the fight over Libya and in Afghanistan, several LIBYAN ATTRITION nations also found the capacity to fly in sup- With no information available yet about plies in the aftermath of a massive earthquake which of the Gaddafi regime’s aircraft sur- and tsunami which devastated parts of Japan vived the conflict, our new entry for the na- in March. US Air Force Boeing C-17s flew tion has been restricted to showing only the into Sendai, for example, to help assist with little more than a dozen transport aircraft and the recovery efforts. helicopters that have been seen in use since Elsewhere this year, major earthquakes also the end of hostilities. This contrasts with last hit New Zealand and Turkey, and floods af- year’s data for the nation, which listed almost fected parts of Pakistan. All drew support 380 aircraft as operational. from air arms which are typically being asked Another significant reduction is also to do more with reduced resources or person- marked in the entry for Ukraine, which is re- nel as most nations contend with severe budg- ported to now have around 300 fewer RSK etary limitations. MiG-29 and Sukhoi Su-24 strike aircraft in Our new World Air Forces directory lists use than previously listed. over 52,000 aircraft as being in active use with Southern Sudan appears as a first-time Rex Features entrant, with a small fleet of 11 Mil Mi-17 160 nations around the globe: a drop of Bin Laden raid prompted stealth questions gg World Air Forces 2011/2012 | Flightglobal Insight | 5 WORLD AIR FORCES 2011/2012 gg transport helicopters. As with previous helicopters. But reflecting the current needs directories, more than 900 military air- of operating in Afghanistan, numbers for com- craft dedicated for use as VIP transports bat helicopters and special mission aircraft around the world are not included. have both seen slight increases. As before, the USA tops our league tables in every directory category for the number of FIGHTER BATTLES aircraft in active use, with its air force, army, As ever, potential business in the fighter mar- Marine Corps and navy together accounting ket resulted in many stories during 2011, but for 25% of the total equipment listed this year. few new sales by early December. The Swiss Russia is a distant second, followed by China, Federal Council in late November announced Japan and India, although these four nations its intention to buy 22 Gripen NGs from Saab, combined account for only three-quarters of with funding to be sought next year. If con- Washington’s total assets. firmed, the win will be of great significance to While a severe budget crunch is now being the Swedish manufacturer, which is looking faced by Department of Defense planners, this to kick-start the new generation version of its- dominance shows no sign of being dimin- fighter after making previous deliveries to the ished for many years to come. This is borne Czech Republic, Hungary, South Africa, Swe- out by our data about confirmed orders, where den and Thailand. the USA accounts for almost 1,700 of the Iraq’s acquisition of 18 F-16C/Ds is also 5,400 aircraft recorded. This roughly 30% progressing, with the sale to extend Lock- stake increases to more than half of the pend- heed’s production of the type through 2018. ing future purchases detailed in the directory, Companies are also awaiting the outcome with the US military to potentially acquire of several other key battles. India’s initially over 3,900 of the 6,700 aircraft identified. 126-unit medium multi-role combat aircraft In line with the overall decrease recorded contest could potentially be concluded before in the directory, global fleets have shrunk in year-end, with the decision to provide a mas- three of our equipment categories: combat air- sive boost for either the Dassault-led Rafale US Air Force craft; transports/tankers; and training aircraft/ WORLDWIDE ACTIVE FLEET