Top Ten Countries in Air Power
Aircraft Strength
Despite all of the other advances made for the modern battlefield, air superiority is still a top priority to war planners in any theater.
The aircraft received its baptism by fire in World War 1, having since evolved to the mounts of today utilizing stealth, supercruise technology and precision-guided munitions. For the purposes of the GFP ranking, fixed-wing, rotary-wing and UAV aircraft inventories are all taken into account. However, systems on order heading into 2014 are NOT taken into account.
Fighter Aircraft
National airpower is gauged by the number of - and quality of - fighter-type aircraft in inventory.
The fighter aircraft is the principle mount of any modern air arm. Long evolved from its basic origins in World War 1, the fighter of today is a multi-role design capable of engaging both air and land targets with equal precision. Missiles and advanced scanning allow for beyond-visual-range engagements while rotary cannon finish off opponents at close-range. The Fifth Generation Fighter is currently embodied by the Lockheed F-22 "Raptor" with competitors arising in both Russia and China. Fourth Generation Fighters remain a capable - and cost-effective - battlefield component.
Attack Aircraft
Attack aircraft can be used to neutralize many of the enemy's capabilities - air defense, industry and infrastructure to name a few.
The attack aircraft has long been in use and today's mounts have benefited through the many decades of conventional warfare. Precision bombing, fast-attack and low-level strikes are now the call-of-the-day, ensuring that one's enemy cannot retaliate at full strength. The GFP total ONLY includes fixed-wing attack/strike types (including light-class aircraft) though it excludes armed UAVs/Drones for the time being. Attack helicopters and gunships are NOT taken into account. Systems on order into 2014 are NOT taken into account.
Transport Aircraft
An oft-overlooked facet of war-making is the ability to move man and machine to far-off places of the world and across fluid fronts.
Transport of man, machine and supplies is critical to the fast-paced wars of today when attempting to overwhelm and enemy or overrun key positions. The transport aircraft - be it fixed-wing or rotary-wing - provides warplanners with the means to shuttle all manner of battlefield elements to and from all parts of the world. The GFP listing includes both fixed-wing and helicopter aircraft types classified as transports.
Attack Helicopter
The dedicated attack helicopter has revolutionized armored warfare with its tank-killing capabilities, close-support qualities and battlefield survivability.
The dedicated attack helicopter emerged during the Cold War years when the tank proved the key component to battlefield victory. The basic formula has not changed today where firepower, performance and survivability have proven key in a successful attack helicopter design. For the purposes of the GFP listing, only dedicated attack helicopters are considered - gunships or other converted transport platforms are not. Primary attack helicopters include the American Hughes AH-64 Apache, the Eurocopter Tiger and the Mil Mi-24/35 Hind series. Systems on order heading into 2014 are NOT included.
