US leads global air power with largest number of fighter jets

A ranking based on fighter count shows that the USA tops with 2,358 fighters followed by China with 1,975 and Russia with 1,008. India ranks fourth with 542 fighters and Japan follows with 253.

India's diverse inventory includes Dassault Rafale and Sukhoi Su-30MKI jets among others. Japan recently began acquiring F-35 stealth fighters to modernize its Self Defense Forces (SDF), planning for a total of 127 Joint Strike Fighters.

American planes like Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor remain dominant despite Russia's small fleet of Su-57 Felon stealth fighters. The global fleet of F-35 Lightning II models exceeds its predecessor significantly.

Reports indicate PLAAF's stealth plane numbers surpass those of Russia due to long-standing production runs of models like J-20 while preparing for mass production of J-35s soon.

India continues modernizing its air force through acquisitions such as French Rafales while negotiating potential deals for building F-16V jets under license from Lockheed Martin—a project dubbed F-21 domestically.

The evolution towards sixth-generation fighter jets marks another step forward; these new aircraft incorporate technologies like artificial intelligence alongside unmanned drones within networked systems capable beyond current capabilities offered by fifth-gen counterparts such as sensor fusion or hypersonic weapons integration into adaptable frameworks ensuring military dominance across contested spaces worldwide well into future conflicts anticipated ahead too!