Key point: only indigenous tech count.
If no, Saudi or Ethiopia or Solomon Islands would become #2 if it buys a CV, Aegis destroyers, and some N-subs from the US.
Or for another example who has the most powerful racing-cars, Ferrari or I? I surely, if i buy several top line Ferrari from Ferrari to pitch against the average Ferrari from Ferrari then? Even if My Ferrari lose to Ferrari, i am still more powerful than Nissan, Renault, WV, Ford then?
clearly as anyone can see that this is not rational as imported tech should not count.
So it's critical for any ranking that all key and turnkey technolgies and sub-systems such as radars, missiles & other major weapon systems, n-reactres, other power-systems, ship-borne planes, AWACs, HELOs, etc, etc, MUST be indigenous.
This, seperates the true naval powers and the wannabes.
Then we have:
1. US
2. Russia & China & UK & France & Japan - roughly in the same league currently with Russia in the lead.
- Russia: the quality and the quantity of Russia N-subs renders it the leader of this group, even though its surface fleet is less advanced than the rest.
- China: the quality and size of advanced Aegis-equivalent surface fleet are fastly catching up, with the biggest growth momentum in this group.
- UK / France: about the same level on N-subs (UK's missiles are imported from the US though, same with ship-borne warplanes F-35 and possible AWACs)... UK better at destroyers while FR has a CV.
- Japan : current Aegis surface fleet, the largest within the group, is even better than Russia and China(some areas of key tech such as Aegis radar, missiles, etc. depending on the US though)...coventional subs are amongst teh top of the world and with decent quantity, but lacking critical N-subs and CV capabilities due to restrictions.
Within 5-10 years,however, China would likely become #1 in this group due to sheer incease of numbers of Aegis-equivalent destroyers and CVs(tranditional and/or n-powered). its N-subs, despite of improvement, may be still behind Russia/UK during the said time frame, though.
The rest are jokes : either too small to compare, or with >90% key tech imported, I mean "indigenous" in case of India, from above countries.