This is the most popular aircraft of the US Marine Corps

24/7 Wall St. Perspectives

• As of 2022, the Marine Corps has 177,200 men and women on active duty.
• The US Marine Corps has incredibly versatile aircraft in its arsenal.

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The US Marine Corps was originally formed on November 10, 1775, when Navy officials decided that “two battalions” were needed as a landing force. Less than a year later, this particular group of troops embarked on its first amphibious raid, which took place in the Bahamas.

As of 2022, 177,200 active duty men and women are part of this elite military force. The duties of the Marine Corps include the defense of advanced naval bases and the development of tactics for amphibious landings. To be successful in their tasks, the US Marine Corps has several aircraft in its arsenal.

The Navy’s most widely used aircraft is the MV-22 Osprey. This aircraft is incredibly versatile, which is why sailors rely on it so much. It is capable of vertical takeoff and landing, allowing it to perform a variety of missions and transport troops in a range of environments.

The MV-22 Osprey was originally developed by Boeing and entered service in 2007. It used a twin-engine configuration that could switch from helicopter to airplane in flight. The Osprey can reach speeds of over 300 mph and has an operating range of over 1,000 miles. This is just one of many aircraft used by the Marine Corps.

Here at 24/7 Wall St. take a closer look at the aircraft used by the Marine Corps. To identify the most used aircraft by the US Marine Corps, 24/7 Wall St. analyzed data from the 2024 World Air Forces report from FlightGlobal, an aviation and aerospace industry website, and ranked aircraft by number of units in active service. . In addition, we have included additional information about the type of aircraft, how many are in active service, maximum speed and armament. We have excluded trainer aircraft and helicopters from this list.

There are a number of other aircraft in the Navy’s arsenal, each playing a unique and important role to the functionality of the military as a whole.

Why are we covering this?

On average, the US spends $400 billion a year on operating and supporting its military units. In 2024, $5.7 billion was budgeted to the Marine Corps for aviation training. Overall, the Department of Defense has $2.02 trillion in budget resources, which is 14.6 percent of the 2024 federal budget.

Here’s a look at the most active aircraft in the US Marine Corps:

15. C-20 Gulfstream IV

• Type: Military VIP passenger transport aircraft
• Year of introduction: 1983
• Active aircraft: 1
• Maximum speed: 582 mph
• Armament: N/A

14. T-34 Mentor

• Type: Basic trainer / light attack aircraft
• Year of introduction: 1953
• Active aircraft: 2
• Maximum speed: 322 mph
• Armament: 1,200 lbs. of artillery drop

13. Citation Encore/Sovereign/Ultra

• Type: Transport aircraft
• Year of introduction: 2004
• Active aircraft: 10
• Maximum speed: 490 mph
• Armament: N/A

12. CH-53K Stallion King

• Type: Heavy transport helicopter
• Year of introduction: 2018
• Active aircraft: 11
• Maximum speed: 196 mph
• Armament: 12.7 mm heavy machine guns, 12.7 mm GAU-21 miniguns

11. F-5 Freedom Fighter

• Type: Light multirole aircraft
• Year of introduction: 1962
• Active aircraft: 12
• Maximum speed: 1,077 mph
• Armament: M39A2 20mm Autocannon, Sidewinder Missiles, Maverick Missiles, Missile Bridges, Drop Bombs, Cluster Bombs, Nuclear Bombs

10. C-12 Huron

• Type: Special mission aircraft
• Year of introduction: 1974
• Active aircraft: 15
• Maximum speed: 332 mph
• Armament: N/A

9. C-40 Clipper

• Type: Transport aircraft
• Year of introduction: 2001
• Active aircraft: 17
• Maximum speed: 544 mph
• Armament: N/A

8. KC-130 Super Hercules

• Type: Tanker / transport plane
• Year of introduction: 1962
• Active aircraft: 69
• Maximum speed: 416 mph
• Armament: N/A

7. AV-8B+ Harrier II

• Type: Short take-off and vertical landing aircraft
• Year of introduction: 1985
• Active aircraft: 99
• Maximum speed: 665 mph
• Armament: ADEN 30mm Cannons, Drop Bombs, Laser Guided Bombs, Maverick Missiles, Harpoon Missiles, Cluster Munitions, Sidewinder Missiles, AMRAAM Missiles, Common Direct Attack Munitions

6. UH-1Y Venom

• Type: Medium lift utility/transport helicopter
• Year of introduction: 2009
• Active aircraft: 127
• Maximum speed: 190 mph
• Armament: 7.62 mm machine guns, 12.7 mm GAU-16/A gatling guns, hydraulic pods

5. CH-53E Super Stallion

• Type: Very heavy transport helicopter
• Year of introduction: 1981
• Active aircraft: 135
• Maximum speed: 196 mph
• Armament: 12.7 mm heavy machine guns, 12.7 mm GAU-21 miniguns

4. F-35 Lightning II

• Type: Fifth generation multi-role strike fighters
• Year of introduction: 2016
• Active aircraft: 145
• Maximum speed: 1,199 mph
• Armament: GAU-12/U 25mm Cannon in External Bridge, Sidewinder Missiles, Paveway Guided Bombs, Rockeye II Bombs, Brimstone Missiles, Storm Shadow Missiles, Drop Bombs

3. AH-1Z Viper

• Type: Twin-engine attack helicopter
• Year of introduction: 2010
• Active aircraft: 176
• Maximum speed: 255 mph
• Armament: M196 20mm Cannon, Hellfire Missiles, Air-to-Surface Missiles, Sidewinder Missiles, Hydra Missiles

2. F/A-18 Hornet

• Type: Carrier-based strike fighters
• Year of introduction: 1983
• Active aircraft: 186
• Maximum speed: 1,190 mph
• Armament: M61 Vulcan 20mm Cannon, Sidewinder Missiles, Sparrow Missiles, Maverick Missiles, Harpoon Missiles, HARM Missiles, Laser/Precision Guided Bombs, Cannonballs, Missile Holes, Nuclear Warheads

1. MV-22 Osprey

• Type: Tilt-rotor VTOL aircraft
• Year of introduction: 2007
• Active aircraft: 288
• Maximum speed: 316 mph
• Armament: 7.62 mm machine guns, 12.7 mm machine guns

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