Air Forces comparison: United Arab Emirates vs Iran

United Arab Emirates operates 592 active military aircraft vs 659 for Iran.

AIRS (Air Inventory Rating of Strength) Index face-off Full ranking →

United Arab EmiratesWorld #17 19.8

AIRS Index / 100

United Arab Emirates leads on 3 of 6 categories

IranWorld #29 13.5

135 Combat aircraftweight ×50 · generation 295
264 Helicoptersweight ×10 · era 160
55 Transportweight ×10 81
8 Special missionweight ×8 12
44 UAVsweight ×10 23
86 Trainersweight ×1 88

United Arab Emirates Iran 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

	United Arab Emirates	Iran	Ratio
Official name	United Arab Emirates Air Force	Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force
Active aircraft	592	659	🇮🇷 1.1×
Aircraft on order	277	0	🇦🇪
Combat aircraft	135	295	🇮🇷 2.2×
Combat share of fleet	22.8 %	44.8 %	🇮🇷 2.0×
Aircraft types in service	36	37	🇮🇷 ≈
Main supplier	United States · 52 %	United States · 50 %

Show full breakdown · 5 more rowsHide the 5 extra rows

Helicopters	264	160	🇦🇪 1.6×
Transport aircraft	55	81	🇮🇷 1.5×
Special-mission aircraft	8	12	🇮🇷 1.5×
Trainers	86	88	🇮🇷 ≈
UAVs	44	23	🇦🇪 1.9×