2nd and 3rd rate powers

On ratings:

1: IC - I'd call them 3rd rate or maybe even 4th. I don't picture 
them as an armed force to write home and brag about. 

2: IF rated as 3rd rate: I didn't say they weren't a force to be 
feared, but I suspect they still lack flexibility in responses, 
deeper doctrinal capability that only comes with being a superpower 
with a long institutional military history and a large budget, and I 
suspect they also have problems with tribal/regional prejudices and 
class prejudices. That's IMU. 

3: AE Imperial Forces as 2nd rate - they rate first rate in the 
subset of things they are good for, but the fact they are such a 
subset means that they score lower overall. They don't have the huge 
military infrastructure that the NAC has nor the institutional 
history nor do they regularly engage in large clashes. They're good 
(perhaps even great) in airless-body and shipboard combat. But on-
world (where required) or in larger scale conflicts, they drop out of 
their depth.

4: NAC as 1st rate: I cite long military tradition of successful 
campaigns, strong culture of fixing mistakes, emphasis on flexibility 
at lower and intermediate levels, highest tech training aides, 
largest military budget, etc. All in all, this contributes to the 
highest overall rating. There are also hidden advantages that add up 
to being the military arm of a free and educated society.

5: Swedes as second rate: Same reason as downgrading the AE Imperial 
Forces. Swedes are good in their environment. But they don't do large 
scale ops often, nor do they have quite the training budgets or toys 
of the NAC. Nor quite the same institutional memory. 2nd rate is not 
shabby! It's a rating as "skilled and competent". It just isn't quite 
the highest possible rating.

6: OUDF as second rate: Same problem as some of the other powers - 
well trained indivdually, but limited larger-unit training for troops 
and commanders. Limited training budgets. Good use of $$$, but not 
enough $$$. Again, second rate is not lousy by any stretch.

7: Some PAU and some IF might well be 4th rate. 

8: IAS 4th rate: I waffled about making them 3rd rate. I think 
they're 4th rate but mostly due to limited operational experience (in 
that they mostly don't have to fight), limited budget, limited force 
sizes (as this impacts training of command staff and leaders), and 
limited military tradition and culture and institutional memory. They 
do, I agree, stand a likelihood of fielding some state of the art kit 
(or perhaps bleeding edge tech). But they're a culture of scientists 
and researchers.... not warfighters. (IMU). They're a 4th rate power 
with some plusses. 

9: Rating Aliens. I rate SV as 3rd rate in terms of quality as I 
don't think engineered bioconstructs have the same man-for-man 
capabilities as most humans. OTOH, they make up for this lack of 
individual quality by having certain physical capabilities that 
geneering gives them, technology that is odd and terrifying, and a 
hard to predict psychology. However, I didn't factor these into this 
rating. I think they rank high in the "how powerful are they" rating, 
but lower in the "how good are they, individually".