China has world's strongest military; India at number four: Military Direct's study

New Delhi, March 21  

China has the strongest military force in the world while India stands at number four, according to a study released on Sunday by the defence website Military Direct.

“The USA, despite their enormous military budgets, comes in 2nd place with 74 points, followed by Russia with 69, India at 61 and then France with 58. The UK just about makes the Top 10, coming in 9th place with a score of 43,” said the study.

The study said the “ultimate military strength index” was calculated after taking into consideration various factors including budgets, number of inactive and active military personnel, total air, sea, land and nuclear resources, average salaries, and weight of equipment.

China has the strongest military in the world, scoring 82 out of 100 points in the index, it noted.

“Based on these scores, which account for budgets, men, and things like air and navy capacity, it does suggest that China would come out as top dog in a hypothetical super conflict,” it mentioned.

The world’s biggest military spender with a budget of USD 732 billion per year is the USA, it noted, adding that China comes second with USD 261 billion, followed by India at USD 71 billion.

“China would win by sea, USA by air and Russia by land” in this hypothetical conflict, it said.

“USA wins in an aerial war with 14,141 total airships vs Russia with 4,682 and China with 3,587. The Russian Federation wins in a land war with 54,866 vehicles vs USA with 50,326 and China with 41,641,” it mentioned.

China wins in a sea war with 406 ships vs Russia with 278 and the USA or India with 202, it said. —PTI