Air Force Rankings by unknown website! Indian Media is celebrating it!!
The Indian Air Force is ranked 3rd in the world, according to several Indian media outlets. When it was searched, the organisation that issued the ranking was found as World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft (WDMMA). It’s not an organization, but just a website. The ranking was not published by Air Force Research Institute or any Expert panel.
This website was launched in 2019. Only the rankings for the year 2022 are featured here. In addition, references to the US military are primary on this site. Also, their profile is not mentioned on the site and contact details are not provided.
Many media outlets have been publishing news as ‘India overtakes China’ and ‘India alarmed China’ based on the ranking released by the website, whose address and identity are not known.
The news was published in leading Tamil news channels including Thanthi TV, Puthiya Thalaimurai, Sun News, Polymer and many other leading English news channels including India Today and Hindustan Times. This news is getting millions of views and thousands of likes.
When the media coverage of such news is shocking, it is even more shocking that the Air Chief Marshal spoke about it.
The Hindu on May 30, 2022, reported, When the Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari was asked at a press conference about the IAF’s ranking on the World Air Power Index, he said, “It was a pleasant surprise for us also that we are placed at the third position in the ranking. We have got a fairly robust network system which helps us plan our operations, management and maintenance. We have aircraft from six different countries and a lot of indigenous products also. I think all these factors have made us rise to the No. 3 position and we are very proud of it”, he said.
The site, which claims to have released the world air power index, also said it had released the rankings based on data available to the public. So will a country publishes everything about the Air Force and provide access to the public?
Is it fair to trust the ranking and recognition by an unknown site? If the rank is not based on this website but from any other certified credible organization, will the Indian Air Force publish it? Shockingly, rumours are being turned into reliable news.
