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The Indian Air Force (IAF) has once again proved its strategic and combat capability at the global level. In the latest ‘Global Air Powers Ranking’ released by the prestigious defense sector organization ‘World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft’ (WDMMA), the Indian Air Force has been declared the sixth most powerful air force in the world. The biggest and shocking aspect of this ranking is that India has left its neighbor and arch rival China behind in terms of air fire capability and modernity. At the same time, Pakistan’s condition looks very weak in this list.
Who has dominance among the world’s top aviation forces and who is number one?
At the global level, superpower America continues to dominate unilaterally in terms of air power. Of the top-5 strongest aviation forces in the world, four of America alone have separate wings. The list is topped by the United States Air Force (USAF) with the highest ‘True-Value Rating’ (TvR) score of 242.9 and 5,004 fighter and support aircraft.
After this, the second position is occupied by the US Navy, the third by the Russian Air Force, the fourth by the US Army and the fifth by the US Marine Corps. However, if the comparison is made purely between the main air forces of the countries, excluding the internal aviation wings of the services, India emerges as the third largest and most powerful air force in the world, just behind the US and Russia.
How did India get ahead of Dragon despite having less aircraft?
This match is very interesting from statistical point of view. In the overall ranking, the Indian Air Force is at sixth place with a TvR score of 69.4, while the Chinese Air Force (PLAAF) has slipped to seventh place with a TvR score of 63.8. If we look at the number of aircraft alone, China has 3,733 active fighter aircraft, which is more than double India’s fleet of 1,716 aircraft. Despite this, India has defeated China technically.
The main reason for this is the unique formula for evaluating WDMMA. This organization does not just count the aircraft, but measures the actual firepower of the army on the basis of ‘True-Value Rating’ (TvR). This formula examines fleet modernization, logistical support, training in difficult situations, strategic capability to attack and defend, as well as the perfect balance of fighter jets, transport aircraft and helicopters. The Indian Air Force has such a lethal and balanced mix of 4.5 generation Sukhoi (Su-30MKI), French-made Rafale and indigenous Tejas, which qualitatively outweighs China in the event of war.
Pakistan is out of top-15, know where Pakistan Air Force stands
Pakistan, which tried to show itself equal to India, has completely lost its air in this global list. Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has failed to secure its place even in the top-10 or top-15 globally. In the entire list, Pakistan is seen struggling at 18th position with 879 active aircraft and a weak TvR score of just 46.3, which is very dwarf in front of India’s strength.
Aviation wings of Indian Navy and Army also hoisted flags.
In this detailed report of WDMMA, the air power of India’s other two armies has also been appreciated. The aviation wing of the Indian Navy is ranked 27th in the world with 232 aircraft and a TvR score of 41.2. At the same time, the aviation unit of the Indian Army is firmly placed at 36th position with 540 aircraft and 30.0 TvR score.
Talking about comparison, China’s Navy is definitely at 15th place in this list, but Pakistan Navy or Army’s aviation wing has not been able to make its place in this global fifty-list consisting of 107 military units. This latest report gives a clear message that in the modern era, the war in the skies is won not only by the ‘number’ of aircraft, but by ‘accuracy, quality and combat experience’.