Another major achievement has been registered in the account of Indian Air Force (IAF). In the Global Air Powers Ranking 2026, the Indian Air Force has made it to the top 6, leaving behind countries like China, Japan and Pakistan. American forces dominate the top 10 list and 4 of its forces are in the list.
The ‘World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft’ (WDMMA) highlights the strengths and weaknesses of global military aviation, providing a comprehensive overview of the state of air power around the world. WDMMA prepares its reports by combining many data and the resources associated with it provide information about the reality of the force in modern warfare.
Eye on 129 military units of 103 countries
WDMMA currently monitors a total of 48,082 aircraft in 129 military air units of 103 different countries. The WDMMA ranking methodology uses a complex formula that evaluates specific metrics related to the overall combat capability of various air units around the world.
The subsequent calculation gives the ‘TruVal Rating, TVR’. This rating differentiates the strength of each country not only on the basis of total number of aircraft, but also by taking into account technical modernization, logistical support and attack and defense capabilities. This ensures that a military power is judged not just by the total number of aircraft it has, but by the actual quality and general balance of its fleet.
4 forces of America in top 5 list
The highest TVR score in this ranking is 242.9, which is with the United States Air Force and is number one. The active WDMMA index includes 103 nations and 129 air services, including, where appropriate, independent Army, Navy, and Marine Corps aviation branches.
| rank | force | TVR Score |
| 1 | United States Air Force | 242.9 |
| 2 | United States Navy | 142.4 |
| 3 | Russian Air Force | 114.2 |
| 4 | United States Army | 112.6 |
| 5 | United States Marine Corps | 85.3 |
| 6 | Indian Air Force | 69.4 |
| 7 | Chinese Air Force | 63.8 |
| 8 | Japanese Air Force | 58.1 |
| 9 | israeli air force | 56.3 |
| 10 | french air force | 55.3 |
After the United States Air Force, the United States Navy has been placed second in this list. Russian Air Force has got the third place and United States Army has got the fourth place. Another American force, the United States Marine Corps, was placed at fifth position.
Indian Air Force occupies sixth place in this list. The special thing is that the Indian Air Force is ahead of the Chinese and Japanese Air Forces. Chinese Air Force is at 7th position and Japanese Air Force is at 8th position. Israeli Air Force also managed to make it to the top 10 countries and was ranked 9th in this ranking. This French Air Force is at number 10 in the list of top 10 countries.
What is the ranking of Pakistan and Bangladesh?
Pakistan Air Force has got 18th rank (46.3 TVR). Whereas Chinese Navy Aviation has got 15th rank. Indian Navy Aviation has been placed at number 27. Similarly, Indian Army Aviation is at number 36. Bangladesh Air Force is at number 83.
In the ranking of 129 military units of the world, the Hungarian Air Force was at the 3rd lowest position, at 87th position. Below this is Finland Air Force which has got 88th rank with 12.5 TVR. The lowest ranking is Iranian Army Aviation (11.4 TVR).
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