Cross-Check on Combat Aircraft Data

This paper presents our findings based on a systematic analysis of eight renowned data sources on combat aircraft data. Focusing on national combat aircraft fleets, we first investigate similarities and differences between the eight data sources. We find dissimilarities both within and between data types (inventory, production, transfer) as well as structural differences in reports and missing data. Second, derived from the data sources and our analysis, we introduce a cross-checked dataset on combat aircraft data. This dataset covers the period 1995-2021 and presents data on all types of market movements (inventory, production, transfers, and abolishment) for 127 families of combat aircraft.