GlobalMilitary.net Open-source military intelligence Updated daily
Head-to-head

Air Forces comparison: Flag of Afghanistan Afghanistan vs Flag of Syria Syria

Afghanistan's air force fields 34 active aircraft — 3.1:1 Syria's 11.

AIRS (Air Inventory Rating of Strength) Index face-off Full ranking →
Roundel of Afghanistan AfghanistanWorld #111 2.3
AIRS Index / 100

Afghanistan leads on 2 of 4 categories

Roundel of Syria SyriaWorld #146 1.1
  • 1 Combat aircraftweight ×50 · generation 2
  • 23 Helicoptersweight ×10 · era 6
  • 9 Transportweight ×10 0
  • 1 Trainersweight ×1 3
Afghanistan Syria Bars: weighted contribution to the AIRS Index (airframes × category weight; combat and bombers by generation tier, helicopters by era; the enabler, armament and availability multipliers apply on top) · figures: active airframes at each side's latest inventory year · Methodology
Key figures as of 2026
Afghanistan Syria Ratio
Official name Afghan Air Force Syrian Arab Air Force
Active aircraft 34 11 🇦🇫 3.1×
Combat aircraft 1 2 🇸🇾 2.0×
Combat share of fleet 2.9 % 18.2 % 🇸🇾 6.2×
Aircraft types in service 9 5 🇦🇫 1.8×
Main supplier United States · 53 % Ex-USSR · 55 %
Show full breakdown · 3 more rowsHide the 3 extra rows
Helicopters 23 6 🇦🇫 3.8×
Transport aircraft 9 0 🇦🇫
Trainers 1 3 🇸🇾 3.0×
Backbone aircraft most numerous in service
🇦🇫 AfghanistanMi-8 Hip ×7UH-60 Black Hawk ×7208 Caravan ×6
🇸🇾 SyriaMi-24 Hind ×2Mi-8 Hip ×2SA340 Gazelle ×2
Fleet evolution · Afghanistan
Fleet evolution · Syria
Explore this matchup
Go deeper · same matchup, other lenses
Military strength
Change opponent
Afghanistan vsPakistanMongoliaLaosGeorgiaKyrgyzstan
Syria vsMongoliaLaosGeorgiaKyrgyzstanYemen

Frequently Asked Questions

Which country has more military aircraft, Afghanistan or Syria?
Afghanistan has more military aircraft with 34 active aircraft compared to Syria's 11, a difference of 23 aircraft.
Which air force has more combat aircraft, Afghanistan or Syria?
Syria has more combat aircraft with 2 fighters and attack aircraft compared to Afghanistan's 1.
Which country has more military helicopters, Afghanistan or Syria?
Afghanistan operates more military helicopters with 23 compared to Syria's 6.
Which air force has more transport aircraft, Afghanistan or Syria?
Afghanistan has more transport aircraft with 9 compared to Syria's 0.
How do the Afghanistan and Syria air forces compare in size?
Afghanistan's air force is 3.1 times larger than Syria's in terms of total active aircraft (34 vs 11).