Special forces of Iran's Revolutionary Guard take part in maneuvers in the Persian Gulf. Israel recently dropped further below Iran in Global Firepower's military ranking. (AP)
Despite its drop in international military ranking, Israel is classified as “leaps ahead” of others in the region.
By David Jablinowitz, World Israel News
Israel’s military has fallen below Iran in the ranking of military powers, as determined by Global Firepower (GFP).
GFP is an international defense research group. For 2018, it ranks Israel 16th out of the 136 countries surveyed.
It was the third year in a row that Israel has fallen in the ranking, dropping from 15th and 11th over the previous two years respectively, compared to Iran’s jump to 13th in 2018 from 20th in 2017.
In the latest survey, Israel also finds itself below such countries as Egypt and Indonesia and just above Pakistan and North Korea.
GFP describes Iran as having “put its hand in several regional conflicts including Syria and Yemen [even as] internal unrest has been growing.”
Despite its drop, the Israeli military is described in the survey as being “leaps ahead of its regional competition – who also struggle with ongoing internal stability issues.”
According to its website, GFP only takes conventional military capabilities into account, though “recognized/suspected nuclear powers are given a bonus.” It says that the “ranking does not rely solely on total numbers of weapons available to any one country but rather focuses on weapons diversity. ”
It adds that in compiling the ranking, it takes into account, to varying degrees, a country’s total available personnel, logistical flexibility, membership in NATO, local defense industries, natural resources, geographical size, and financial stability, among other factors.
Current political and military leadership in a particular country is not taken into account, says GFP.
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