Indian Air Force 1

Indian Air Force From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Indian Air force Ensign of the Indian Air Force Founded October 8, 1932 Country India 170,000 personnel Size 1,700 aircraft (including 852 combat aircraft) Part of Indian Armed Forces Headquarters New Delhi, India Sanskrit: Nabha Sparsham Motto Deeptam "Touch the Sky with Glory"[1] Navy blue, sky blue and white Colour Commanders Chief of the Air Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Staff Vasant Naik Insignia Crest Roundel Fin flash Aircraft flown Attack Jaguar IS, MiG-21, MiG-27 Electronic IAI Phalcon warfare Su-30 MKI, Mirage 2000H, Fighter MiG-29 Helicopter Dhruv, Chetak, Cheetah, Mi- 8/Mi-17, Mi-26, Mi-25/35 Reconnaissance Gulfstream IV HPT-32 Deepak,HPT-16 Kiran Trainer MK II,HJT-36 Sitara and the BAE Hawk Mk 132. Il-76 MD, An-32, HS-748, Transport Boeing 707, Boeing 737 and C-130. The Indian Air Force (IAF; Devanāgarī: भारतीय वायु सेना, Bhartiya Vāyu Senā) is the air arm of the armed forces of India. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict. It was officially established on October 8, 1932 as an auxiliary air force of the Indian Empire and the prefix Royal was added in 1945 in recognition of its services during the World War II. After India achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, the Royal Indian Air Force served the Union of India, with the prefix being dropped when India became a republic in 1950. Since independence, the IAF has been involved in four wars with neighboring Pakistan and one with the People's Republic of China. Other major operations undertaken by the IAF include Operation Vijay , Operation Meghdoot and Operation Cactus . Apart from conflicts, the IAF has been an active participant in United Nations peacekeeping missions. The President of India serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the IAF. The Chief of Air Staff, an Air Chief Marshal (ACM), is a four star commander and commands the Air Force. There is never more than one serving ACM at any given time in the IAF. One officer has been conferred the rank of Marshal of the Air Force, a 5-star rank and the officer serves as the ceremonial chief. With strength of approximately 170,000 personnel and 1,700 aircraft, including 852 combat aircraft in active service, the Indian Air Force is the world's fourth largest.[2][3] In recent years, the IAF has undertaken an ambitious expansion and modernisation program to replace its aging Soviet-era fighter jets. Among the various expansion plans is the MRCA program under which the IAF plans to induct 126 fighter jets at a cost of US$12 billion. Contents [hide] • 1 Mission • 2 History • 3 Structure of the IAF o 3.1 Commands and structure o 3.2 Bases o 3.3 Wings o 3.4 Squadrons • 4 IAF personnel o 4.1 Officers o 4.2 Airmen o 4.3 Garud Commando Force o 4.4 Non Combatants Enrolled and civilians • 5 Land-Based Air Defence • 6 Aircraft inventory o 6.1 Fighter and multi-role combat aircraft o 6.2 Strike, attack and close support aircraft o 6.3 Airborne Early Warning aircraft o 6.4 Transport aircraft o 6.5 Training aircraft o 6.6 Helicopters o 6.7 Unmanned aerial vehicles • 7 Ongoing expansion o 7.1 Future aircraft . 7.1.1 Confirmed sales . 7.1.2 Under procurement . 7.1.3 Under development o 7.2 Aerospace Command o 7.3 Surface to Air Missile Systems o 7.4 Surface to Surface Missiles o 7.5 Air to Surface Missiles • 8 See also • 9 Footnotes • 10 References • 11 External links [edit] Mission Indian Air Force Nabha Sparsham Deeptam "Touch the Sky with Glory" Headquarters New Delhi History and traditions History of the Indian Air Force (established October 8, 1932) Personnel Marshal of the Indian Air Force Chief of the Air Staff Indian Air Force ranks and insignia Aircraft Aircraft of the Indian Air Force Installations Bases The IAF's mission is defined by the Armed Forces Act of 1947, Constitution of India and the Air Force Act of 1950, in the aerial battlespace, as: Defence of India and every part thereof including preparation for defence and all such acts as may be conducive in times of war to its prosecution and after its termination to effective demobilisation.[4] Moreover, the air force, along with the other branches of the Indian armed forces, can assist local and state governments; if assistance is sought by such government during natural disasters and for maintaining internal security. [edit] History Main article: History of the Indian Air Force One of the first aircraft of the Indian Air Force. The Indian Air Force was established as an auxiliary air force[5] of the RAF with the enactment of the Indian Air Force Act of 1932 on October 8 that year.[6][7] On April 1, 1933, the IAF commissioned its first squadron, No.1 Squadron, with four Westland Wapiti biplanes and five Indian pilots. The Indian pilots were led by Flight Lieutenant (later Air Vice Marshal) Cecil Bouchier.[8] Until 1938, No. 1 Squadron remained the only squadron of the IAF, though two more flights were added.[8] During the Second World War, the Air Force had grown to seven squadrons in 1943 and to nine squadrons in 1945. [8] In recognition of the crucial role played by the IAF, King George VI conferred it the prefix Royal in 1945.[7][9] Indian National Army youth cadets were trained by Imperial Japanese Army Air Force Academy in 1944.[10] After Indian independence in 1947, Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) was bifurcated. Three of the ten operational squadrons and facilities located within the borders of Pakistan were transferred to Royal Pakistan Air Force.[11] In 1947, when a conflict broke out over the control of erstwhile principality of Jammu & Kashmir, the Maharaja of the state decided to accede India in order to receive military help.[12] The day after instrument of accession was signed, the RIAF was called upon to mobilise armed troops into the war-zone.[12] This led to the eruption of full scale war between India and Pakistan without a formal declaration.[13] During the war, the RIAF did not engage Pakistan Air Force in air-to-air combat; however, it did provide effective transport and close air support to the Indian troops.[14] When India became a Republic in 1950, the Royal title was dropped to become the Indian Air Force.[7] In 1960, when Belgium's 75-year colonial rule of the Congo ended abruptly, widespread violence and rebellion engulfed the nation.[15] IAF aircraft arrived in Congo to support United Nations Operation in the Congo and started undertaking operational missions in November.[16] The unit remained there until 1966, when the UN mission ended.[16] During the Sino-Indian War of 1962, India's military planners failed to deploy and effectively use the IAF against the invading Chinese forces.[17] Three years after the Sino- Indian conflict, in 1965, India went to war with Pakistan again over Kashmir. Learning from the experiences of the Sino-Indian war, India decided to use its air force extensively during the war. This was the first time the IAF actively engaged an enemy air force.[18] However, instead of providing close air support to the Indian Army,[19] the IAF carried out independent raids against Pakistani Air Force (PAF) bases.[20] These bases were situated deep inside Pakistani territory, making IAF fighters vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire.[21] During the course of the conflict, the PAF enjoyed qualitative superiority over the IAF because most of the jets in IAF's fleet were of World War II vintage. Despite this, the IAF was able to prevent the PAF from gaining air superiority over conflict zones.[22] By the time the conflict had ended, Pakistan claimed to have shot down 113 IAF aircraft while the Indians claimed that 73 PAF aircraft were downed.[23] More than 60% of IAF's air combat losses took place during the disastrous battles over Kalaikunda and Pathankot; where most of the losses were on the ground.[24] HAL HF-24 Marut, the first indigenous fighter jet to enter service with the Indian Air Force. After the 1965 war, the IAF underwent a series of changes. In 1966, the Para Commandos regiment was created.[25] With an intention of increasing its logistics supply and rescue operations ability, the IAF inducted 72 Avro 748s which were built by Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) under license from Avro.[26] India started to lay more stress on indigenous manufacture of fighter aircraft. HAL HF-24 Marut, designed by the famed German aerospace engineer Kurt Tank,[27] were inducted into the air force. HAL also started working on a new improved version of the Folland Gnat, known as HAL Ajeet. At the same time, the IAF also started inducting Mach 2 capable Soviet MiG-21 and Sukhoi Su-7 fighters. By late 1971, another war between India and Pakistan seemed inevitable because of the intensification of the independence movement in erstwhile East Pakistan.[28] On November 22, 1971, 10 days before the start of a full-scale war, four Pakistani Air Force (PAF) F-86 Sabre jets attacked Indian and Mukti Bahini positions near the international border. Three of the four PAF Sabres were shot down by IAF's Folland Gnats.[29] On December 3, India formally declared war against Pakistan following massive preemptive strikes by the PAF against Indian Air Force installations in Srinagar, Ambala, Sirsa, Halwara and Jodhpur.

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