20 Largest Air Forces in The World

3. Russia

Number of combat aircraft: 1,438

The Russian Air Force has fallen from its glory days during the height of the Cold War when it was responsible for the large part of the Red Scare. During the 1990s, it was at its lowest point, both technologically and personnel-wise. However, in the last decade, it has been going through a sort of revival, thanks to the larger funds made available to it. New types of aircraft have been introduced into the service and in significant numbers. It still lags qualitatively and quantitatively behind the United States’ Airforce however. Its latest fifth generation fighter, the T-50, still hasn’t entered production, while the United States and its allies are already introducing the F-35 into service, with the F-22 being operational for almost ten years. And now, let’s see the top two entries in our list of largest air forces in the world.