South Korean Fighter Jets & Military Aircraft in Service (2026)
South Korea has 387 fighter and attack jets in service across 6 types as of 2026, within a fleet of 1,576 military aircraft and 40 types: bombers, helicopters, transports, trainers and unmanned systems, all listed below.
Fighters & Combat Aircraft
387 active · 139 on order
F-16 Fighting Falcon
Active166 BranchAir Force Service entry1978
F-5E Tiger II
Active61 BranchAir Force Service entry1976
FA-50 Fighting Eagle
Active60 BranchAir Force Service entry2014
F-15E Strike Eagle
Active59 BranchAir Force Service entry1988
F-35 Lightning II
Active40 +20 BranchAir Force Service entry2013
KF-21 Boramae
Active1 +119 BranchAir Force Service entry2026| Combat share of the fleet | 25% (387 of 1,576) |
| Median fighter design entry | 2000 |
| Cold War designs | 3 of 6 fighter types |
| Oldest design | F-5E Tiger II 1976 |
| Newest design | KF-21 Boramae 2026 |
Military Helicopters
870 active · 220 on order
MD-500
Active251 BranchArmy +1 Service entry1967
KUH-1 Surion
Active240 BranchArmy +1 Service entry2013
UH-60 Black Hawk
Active129 +4 BranchArmy +1 Service entry1979
AH-1 Cobra
Active59 BranchArmy Service entry1967
CH-47 Chinook
Active44 +18 BranchArmy +1 Service entry1962
505 Jet Ranger X
Active40 BranchArmy +1 Service entry2017
AH-64 Apache
Active36 BranchArmy Service entry1984
Westland Lynx
Active23 BranchNavy Service entry1978
HH-60 Pave Hawk
Active17 BranchAir Force Service entry1987
MBB Bo 105
Active12 BranchArmy Service entry1970
AW159
Active8 BranchNavy Service entry2014
Bell 412
Active3 BranchAir Force Service entry1981
H215M / AS532 Cougar
Active3 BranchAir Force Service entry1978
S-92 Superhawk
Active3 BranchAir Force Service entry2004
H155 / EC155 Dauphin 2
Active2 +198 BranchArmy Service entry1999Transport & Tanker Aircraft
47 active · 13 on order
CN-235
Active18 BranchAir Force Service entry1988
C-130 Hercules
Active16 BranchAir Force Service entry1956
F406 Caravan II
Active5 BranchNavy Service entry1985
Airbus A330 MRTT
Active4 BranchAir Force Service entry2011
Falcon 2000
Active2 +4 BranchAir Force Service entry1995
Boeing 737
Active1 BranchAir Force Service entry1968
Commander 500
Active1 BranchAir Force Service entry1952
BD-700 Global Express
ActiveOn order BranchAir Force Service entry1999
C-390 Millennium
ActiveOn order BranchAir Force Service entry2019Special Mission Aircraft
34 active
Trainers
229 active · 20 on order
Unmanned Aircraft
9 active
Other National Fleets
- 🇺🇸 United States · all-time
- 🇷🇺 Russia · all-time
- 🇨🇳 China · all-time
- 🇮🇳 India · all-time
- 🇰🇷 South Korea · all-time
- 🇯🇵 Japan · all-time
- 🇵🇰 Pakistan · all-time
- 🇰🇵 North Korea · all-time
- 🇪🇬 Egypt · all-time
- 🇹🇷 Turkey · all-time
- 🇫🇷 France · all-time
- 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia · all-time
- 🇮🇹 Italy · all-time
- 🇹🇼 Taiwan · all-time
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom · all-time
- 🇮🇷 Iran · all-time
- 🇬🇷 Greece · all-time
- 🇩🇿 Algeria · all-time
- 🇩🇪 Germany · all-time
- 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates · all-time
- 🇮🇱 Israel · all-time
- 🇧🇷 Brazil · all-time
- 🇪🇸 Spain · all-time
- 🇮🇩 Indonesia · all-time
- 🇵🇱 Poland · all-time
- 🇮🇶 Iraq · all-time
- 🇦🇺 Australia · all-time
- 🇨🇦 Canada · all-time
- 🇺🇦 Ukraine · all-time
- 🇦🇷 Argentina · all-time
Frequently Asked Questions
How many fighter jets does South Korea have in 2026?
South Korea has 387 fighter and attack jets in service across 6 types as of 2026, the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon being the most numerous with 166 airframes. The figure counts combat aircraft only; bombers, helicopters, transports, trainers and drones are listed further down this page, and the full inventory with yearly history is on the South Korea air force page.
How many aircraft does the South Korean military operate in 2026?
South Korea operates 1,576 aircraft across 40 distinct types as of 2026, split between 4 service branches.
Which South Korean service branch has the most aircraft?
The Republic of Korea Air Force operates the largest fleet with 735 active airframes across 27 types.
What is the most numerous South Korean military aircraft?
The Hughes MD-500 is the single most numerous airframe in South Korea's inventory, with 251 active units.
Does this page include retired or stored aircraft?
No. Counts reflect airframes on active inventory in the most recent fleet snapshot, across every service that flies them: air force, army aviation and naval aviation alike. Retired, stored and test-only aircraft are excluded; a type on order but not yet delivered is shown as such.