- Domain
- Air
- NCF capability
- Intelligence
- Military Balance category
- Intelligence
- SIPRI category
- Aircraft
- Evidence that places a platform here
- reconnaissance aircraft · electronic (warfare|intelligence|attack) · \bSIGINT\b · \bELINT\b · \bISR\b · surveillance aircraft · signals intelligence · airborne (ground )?surveillance · command post · airborne command · U-2 · RC-135 · E-8 · EA-18
The 24 nations
None, legacy only, modern, or modern and on order. Modern: in service from 1995, or the current generations of fighters, tanks, submarines and long-range air defence.
United StatesModern · 7United KingdomModern · 2AustraliaModern · 3FranceOn order only · 3GermanyLegacy only · 4JapanModern · 3South KoreaModern · 3CanadaLegacy only · 1ItalyModern and on order · 3IndiaLegacy only · 1TürkiyeNoneSaudi ArabiaNoneBrazilModern · 1IndonesiaNoneMexicoNoneArgentinaModern · 1South AfricaNoneRussiaModern · 8ChinaLegacy only · 8IsraelModern · 4UkraineLegacy only · 4TaiwanNoneIranNoneNorth KoreaLegacy only · 1
Generation timeline
Each platform from its first flight or launch to today, the 40 most operated, earliest in service first. Grey is development and, after the lead operator retires it, the years other nations keep it; colour is service.
- Development, from first flight or launch
- In service, from first deployment
- After its lead operator retires it, still held elsewhere
- Today
- Flag beside the name: the home country
Dates from Wikidata: first flights or launches for 14 of these 18, retirements for 0. A bar without grey at its start has no first flight recorded.
Platforms
Ranked by the number of the 24 nations that hold each.
| Platform | Operators | Active | On order | In service | Generation | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk | 4 | 43 | 2001 | USA | ||
| Diamond DA42 | 3 | 5 | 2004 | AUT | ||
| Tupolev Tu-143 | 3 | 1982 | SUN | |||
| ZSU-23-4 Shilka | 3 | 179 | 1962 | SUN | ||
| Antonov An-30 | 2 | 3 | 1975 | SUN | ||
| Beechcraft RC-12 Guardrail | 2 | 102 | 1974 | |||
| Boeing EA-18G Growler | 2 | 172 | 2008 | USA | ||
| IAI Eitan | 2 | 5 | ISR | |||
| RC-135 | 2 | 25 | 1965 | USA | ||
| Sukhoi Su-35 | 2 | 24 | 2014 | RUS | ||
| Boeing E-6 Mercury | 1 | 16 | 1989 | USA | ||
| CAIG Wing Loong II | 1 | CHN | ||||
| Falcon 2000 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 1995 | FRA | |
| Il-80 | 1 | 1992 | SUN | |||
| Kawasaki C-1 | 1 | 1 | 1974 | JPN | ||
| Lockheed U-2 | 1 | 33 | 1956 | USA | ||
| MC-55A Peregrine | 1 | 3 | USA | |||
| NAMC YS-11 | 1 | 3 | 1965 | JPN | ||
| Pilatus U-28 Draco | 1 | 28 | 1991 | |||
| Praetorian DASS | 1 | 38 | GBR | |||
| Sukhoi Su-34 | 1 | 2014 | RUS | |||
| Tupolev Tu-204 | 1 | 1996 | SUN | |||
| UMS Skeldar V-200 | 1 | 6 | SWE | |||
| WZ-10 | 1 | 8 | CHN | |||
| WZ-7 | 1 | 24 | CHN | |||
| WZ-8 (drone) | 1 | 2 | CHN | |||
| PEGASUS (reconnaissance system) | 0 | 3 | DEU |
Fingerprints
Each nation's equipment fingerprint with only isr and electronic warfare aircraft in colour.
United States Boeing EA-18G Growler EA-18G 160, Beechcraft RC-12 Guardrail 95, Lockheed U-2 33
United Kingdom RC-135 3, Diamond DA42 2
Australia Boeing EA-18G Growler 12, Gulfstream G550 MC-55A 4, MC-55A Peregrine 3
France Beechcraft 200 Super King Air ALSR Vador –, Dassault Falcon 7X Falcon 8X Archange 0, Falcon 2000 –
Germany IAI Eitan 5, PEGASUS (reconnaissance system) Bombardier Global 6000 –, Praetorian DASS – –
Japan NAMC YS-11 3, Kawasaki C-1 EC-1 1, Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk RQ-4B 1
South Korea Hawker 800 RC-800s 8, Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk 4, Falcon 2000 2000 2
Canada UMS Skeldar V-200 CU-176 Gargoyle 6
Italy EC-27 Jedi 3, Beechcraft 200 Super King Air 350 Spydr 1, L3Harris EA-37B Compass Call EA-37B 0
India ZSU-23-4 Shilka 75
Brazil Embraer R-99 R-99 3
Argentina Diamond DA42 3
Russia ZSU-23-4 Shilka 100, Antonov An-30 –, Diamond DA42 –
China WZ-7 24, Shenyang J-16 J-16D 20, Shaanxi Y-9 Y-9JZ 10
Israel Beechcraft 200 Super King Air B200 18, Beechcraft RC-12 Guardrail 7, Gulfstream G550 SEMA 4
Ukraine ZSU-23-4 Shilka 4, Antonov An-30 B 3, Mil Mi-9 2
North Korea Tupolev Tu-143 –