MOSCOW, December 21. /TASS/. Russia’s Sukhoi Su-27 (NATO reporting name: Flanker-B)/Su-30 (Flanker-C) fighter jets are the third most popular aircraft in the world, according to a report on the prospects of the global air force development published by the Flight International analytical center on Monday.

According to the report, there are 943 fighter jets of the Su-27/Su-30 families, which makes up 6% of the total number of combat aircraft in the world. These fighter jets are the third most popular combat aircraft in the world.

The US-made F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet has been ranked 1st with 2,264 aircraft of this type making up 16%. The F-16 fighter jet is followed by the US-made F-18 Hornet/Super Hornet aircraft. There are 1,047 F-18 fighter jets in the world or 7% of the total number of combat aircraft operational globally.

The US-made F-15 Eagle fighter jet holds the 4th position. As many as 858 aircraft of this type are currently operational, which makes up 6%.

The Top-10 rating of the most popular combat aircraft worldwide covers another two Russian-made fighter jets and one attack aircraft. The Mikoyan MiG-29 (Fulcrum) fighter jet has been ranked 5th with 819 aircraft of this type making up 6%.

The MiG-21 (Fishbed) fighter jet ranks 6th. As many as 551 MiG-21 fighter jets are operational in the world, which makes up 4% of the total number of combat aircraft in the world.

The MiG-21 fighter jet is followed by the Su-25 (Frogfoot) attack aircraft with 503 planes of this type making up 3% of the total number of combat aircraft in the world.

Chinese-made aircraft hold the 8th, 9th and 10th positions in the Top-10 rating.

The Chinese-made F-5 fighter jet has been ranked 8th with 482 aircraft of this type making up 3% of the total number of combat aircraft in the world.

The F-5 aircraft is followed by the F-7 fighter jet. As many as 459 aircraft of this type are operational in the world, which makes up 3% of the total number of combat aircraft in the world.

The J-7 fighter jet has been ranked 10th in the rating with 418 aircraft of this type making up 3%.

As many as 6,208 aircraft of other types are operational with air forces of other countries, which makes up 43% of the total number of combat aircraft in the world.

As of late 2015, there are 14,552 combat aircraft operational in armed forces across the world.