Sorry but Military Balance is wrong on many accounts every year. Its good for comparative analysis because the errors maybe similar of the two Armies being compared. Simple glaring mistakes in IISS 2025- just two examples
1. PLA's ISR Satellite numbers are way off
2. Pakistan Army inducted some HQ9 in 2024 & that number remains some in 2025. As per IISS, PAF neither has HQ9 nor has inducted any LR SAM since 2018. While PA inducted HQ9P in 2019 (as per the photo of their Army Chief) & PAF inducted HQ9BE in 2021.
There are many such errors in IISS Military Balance. Even J20 numbers seem wrong.
My suggestion- Just use it for broad idea & not as final authority