The Indian Air Force has ranked higher than the People’s Liberation Army Air Force, the Israeli Air Force, the Japan Air Self Defence Force, the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom and many more developed nations, according to a report published by the World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft (WDMMA).
The Global Air Powers Ranking of 2022 is indeed a matter of pride for the Indian Air Force.
The report has compared air services of different countries on the basis of their combined fighting strength. IAF has been proudly put in the sixth position right below the United States Marine corps, The United States Air force has garnered the first position along with its Navy at the second leaving The Russian Air Force at the third position. The current WDMMA inventory consists of 98 countries tracked, 124 air services covered (this
The World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft (WDMMA) evaluates the effectiveness and efficiency of modern military air services across the world by considering several factors and presents a comprehensive report. At present, the WDMMA is tracking 98 countries, covering 124 air services and following a total of 47,840 aircraft. This directory uses a formula to prepare its annual ranking of modern military air services around the world.
WDMMA can separate each power using the ‘True Value Rating’ (TVR) that is determined by the formula. It takes into account not just the overall strength but also modernization, logistical support, and attack and defence capabilities. The military air power of a country is not analysed merely on the basis of the total quantity of aircraft but on the basis of its quality and general mix of inventory. TVR is a work in progress and is constantly updated as per the requirement. The directory pays a lot of attention to those categories that are normally overlooked by some powers such as special mission, dedicated bomber force, training, and on-order units. Moreover, the report emphasizes local aero-industry capabilities, inventory balance (general mix of unit types), and force experience.
According to the Global Air Powers Ranking (2022) report, the United States Air Force (USAF) has the highest TVR score – 242.9. The USAF consists of a broad mix of aircraft types and several products are sourced from the US’ massive industrial base. A number of CAS aircraft, strategic bombers, a hefty helicopter and fighter fleet (many of which are multi-role) and hundreds of transport aircraft are also on hand for the USAF. Meanwhile, the United States Air Force is slated to receive another batch of hundreds of aircraft in the next few weeks.
As per the evaluation and overview for Indian Air Force, the report states that ‘The service currently counts 1,645 total units in its active aircraft inventory. The TVR given to IAF is 69.4.
