About Indian Air
Force
Brief History
The Indian Air Force (IAF)
was established as the ''Royal Indian Air Force'' by the
passing of the Indian Air Force act on October_8 1932.
Accordingly, IAF's Number 1 Squadron came into being on
April_1 1933. Initially, the IAF consisted of five fighter
pilots, one RAF commanding officer and four ''Westland
Wapiti Biplanes''.
The first five pilots
commissioned into the Indian Air Force were H C Sircar,
Subroto Mukerjee, Bhupendra Singh, A B Awan and Amarjeet
Singh. A sixth officer, S N Tandon had to revert to Ground
duties as he was too short. All of them were commissioned
as ''Pilot Officers'' in 1933. Subroto Mukerjee later went
on to become the IAF's first Indian Chief of Air Staff.
Subsequent batches inducted before World_War_2 included
Aspy Engineer, K K Majumdar, Narendra, R H D Singh, S N
Goyal, Baba Mehar Singh, Prithpal Singh and Arjan Singh.
In 1991 the government
approved the induction of women into nontechnical air
force officer billets, such as administration, logistics,
accounting, education, and meteorology. In 1992
opportunities for "pioneer women officers" were opened in
the areas of transportation, helicopters, and navigation,
and the first group of thirteen women cadets entered the
Air Force Academy. During their flight training, they
qualified on HPT-32 and Kiran aircraft to earn their air
force commissions. After completing ten months' training,
five of the seven successful course graduates received
further training on various transport aircraft. By 1994,
there were fifty-five women officers in the air force.
In 1994 it had 110,000
personnel and 779 combat aircraft. The air force, which is
headquartered in New Delhi, is headed by the chief of air
staff, an air chief marshal. He is assisted by six
principal staff officers: the vice chief of air staff, the
deputy chief of air staff, the air officer in charge of
administration, the air officer in charge of personnel,
the air officer in charge of maintenance, and the
inspector general of flight safety.
The Indian air force was
equipped with twenty-two squadrons of ground attack
fighters. Five of these squadrons had a total of
eighty-nine British Jaguar aircraft. Another five
squadrons had 120 Soviet-origin MiG-27 aircraft. The air
force also fielded twenty fighter squadrons, two of which
were equipped with a total of thirty-five French-built
Mirage 2000 H/TH aircraft. There were also twelve
squadrons of transport aircraft in the inventory. Because
of the large number of Soviet-origin aircraft, the air
force is dependent on Russia for spare parts and equipment
and weapons upgrades. In March 1995, Russia agreed to
upgrade India's MiG-21 aircraft.
Aside from the Training
Command at Bangalore, the center for primary flight
training is located at the Air Force Academy at Hyderabad,
Andhra Pradesh, followed by operational training at
various air force schools. Advanced training is also
conducted at the Defence Services Staff College;
specialized advanced flight training schools are located
at Bidar, Karnataka, and Hakimpet, Andhra Pradesh (also
the location for helicopter training). Technical schools
are found at a number of other locations.
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force (IAF)
today, having completed more than six decades of dedicated
service to the nation, is a modern, technology-intensive
force distinguished by its commitment to excellence and
professionalism. Keeping space with the demands of
contemporary advancements, the IAF continues to modernise
in a phased manner and today it stands as a credible air
power as the nation marches into the next millennium.
With the ever escalating
costs of operations, great emphasis is being placed on
cost effective training, reducing expenditure, optimising
output and minimising wastage. The Air Force has
implemented a number of measures to enhance the quality of
life of its personnel in Key welfare areas of housing,
education and hostel facilities.
In addition to the
traditional wartime roles of the IAF of counter air,
counter surface, strategic and combat support operations,
the Air Force has provided significant aid to civil
authorities during natural calamities like the Gujarat
cyclone and the Malpa tragedy. The Siachen glacier
lifeline continues to be monitored by the Indian Air
Force, fully supporting the Indian Army in fighting on the
world’s highest battlefield. The IAF has also provided aid
to civil authorities for the large scale movement of
military and para military personnel to maintain law and
order as well as to cater for the needs of a large number
of airmen and jawans in remote and inaccessible outposts.
IAF Commands
The Indian Air Force has
seven commands, of which five are operational and two
functional, namely :
- HQ Central Air Command, Allahabad;
- HQ Eastern Air Command, Shillong;
- HQ Western Air Command, New Delhi;
- HQ Southern Air Command, Trivendrum;
- HQ South-Western Air Command, Gandhi Nagar;
- HQ Maintenance Command, Nagpur; and
- HQ Training Command, Bangalore.
The Indian Air Force is divided into the following
broad categories :
- Flying operations;
- Maintenance & Logistics;
- Administration; and
- Training.