World's top air forces ranked, comparing U.S., Russia and China's fleet sizes

A new report has laid out the fleet sizes of every air force in the world, placing the United States, Russia and China at the helm of aerial power.

The comprehensive study was released Wednesday by FlightGlobal, the online website of century-old aerospace magazine Flight International. Among the highlights seen in the research was that the U.S. possessed far more aircraft than its top competitors Russia and China.

At some 13,266 fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, the U.S. was "the clear leader in air powers terms" and accounted for a quarter of the entire world's fleet. The Pentagon's "also retains a clear lead" in all six categories, which included combat aircraft, special mission aircraft, tankers, transport aircraft, along with combat helicopters as well as training aircraft and helicopters.

Russia came in second overall with 4,163 military planes and helicopters, while China was in third with 3,210 such aircraft. They were followed by India (2,123), South Korea (1,649), Japan (1,561), Pakistan (1,372), France (1,229), (Turkey 1,055) and Egypt (1,054) in a list dominated by Asian powers.