Chinese trolls in overdrive as Indian Air Force beats PLA Air Force in aerial power rankings

Days after a report placed the Indian Air Force above its Chinese counterpart, the Chinese propaganda machine has gone into overdrive. Recently, the World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft released Global Air Power Rankings 2022.

In the Top 10 list, the Indian Air Force was placed above China, Japan, Israel, and France. The only two air forces above India were USA and Russia.

The WDMMA calculates a TvR, or True Value Rating score to compare combat strength of various forces with aerial warfare capabilities. In the TvR score, the number of aircraft, quality of equipment, and diversity of the fleet, among other factors, are taken into account.

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China's loss to India in the rankings did not go down well with Chinese netizens. The excuses to discredit the rankings ranged from WDMMA having inadequate information about China, to citing India's dependence on foreign imports, as per a report in the EurAsian Times.

Chinese articles slamming the rankings also attacked the Tejas, the light combat aircraft manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, or HAL.