Air Forces comparison: Canada vs United Kingdom

Canada operates 396 active military aircraft vs 712 for United Kingdom.

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

CanadaWorld #23 14.8

AIRS Index / 100

United Kingdom leads on 5 of 6 categories

United KingdomWorld #13 23.2

97 Combat aircraftweight ×50 · generation 158
149 Helicoptersweight ×10 · era 254
41 Transportweight ×10 51
27 Special missionweight ×8 23
16 UAVsweight ×10 53
66 Trainersweight ×1 173

Canada United Kingdom 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

	Canada	United Kingdom	Ratio
Official name	Royal Canadian Air Force	Royal Air Force
Active aircraft	396	712	🇬🇧 1.8×
Aircraft on order	204	73	🇨🇦 2.8×
Combat aircraft	97	158	🇬🇧 1.6×
Combat share of fleet	24.5 %	22.2 %	🇨🇦 1.1×
Aircraft types in service	25	23	🇨🇦 1.1×
Main supplier	United States · 78 %	United Kingdom · 28 %

Show full breakdown · 5 more rowsHide the 5 extra rows

Helicopters	149	254	🇬🇧 1.7×
Transport aircraft	41	51	🇬🇧 1.2×
Special-mission aircraft	27	23	🇨🇦 1.2×
Trainers	66	173	🇬🇧 2.6×
UAVs	16	53	🇬🇧 3.3×