India beats China to become the world’s third strongest air force

The Indian Air Force has not only overtaken the Chinese Air Force but also the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, the Israeli Air Force, and the French Air and Space Force.

New Delhi, May 25: In a major breakthrough, the Global Air Powers Ranking of 2022 by the World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft (WDMMA) unveiled that the Indian Air Force has emerged as the third strongest Air Force in the world after America and Russia.

The Indian Air Force has not only overtaken the Chinese Air Force but also the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, the Israeli Air Force, and the French Air and Space Force in terms of strength, as per the report.
 
Notably, the current WDMMA inventory consists of 98 countries tracked, 124 air services covered (this includes Army, Navy, and Marine branches of service where applicable), and 47,840 total aircraft followed.

It employs a formula that considers values associated with the total combat strength of various countries’ air forces. The formula generates the ‘TrueValueRating’ (TvR), which aids WDMMA in separating each power based on its overall strength and elements such as modernization, calculated help, assault, and guard abilities.
 
In this method, a country’s tactical air force is broken down not merely by the number of planes it has but also by the quality and diversity of its stock. The highest attainable TvR score is 242.9 held by the United States Air Force (USAF) followed by Russia, whose TvR score stands at 114.2, followed by the Indian Air Force with a TvR score of 69.4.
According to the report, IAF now has 1,645 active aircraft in its inventory. According to the pie chart published by WDMMA, IAF consists of 38.4% of fighter aircraft. There are 26.6% helicopters.
 
With the induction of Rafale fighter planes, the IAF has enhanced its power. Currently, they are deployed to the China-India and India-Pakistan border areas to gain a competitive advantage over the J-16 and J-20.