WThe Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks fourth amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflict. It was officially established on 8 October 1932 as an auxiliary air force of the British Empire which honoured India's aviation service during World War II with the prefix Royal. After India gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, the name Royal Indian Air Force was kept and served in the name of Dominion of India. With the government's transition to a Republic in 1950, the prefix Royal was removed.
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WAero India is a biennial air show and aviation exhibition held in Bengaluru, India at the Yelahanka Air Force Station. It is organised by the Defence Exhibition Organisation, Ministry of Defence.
WAir Chief Marshal is a Four Star Air Officer rank in the Indian Air Force. It is the highest active rank in the Indian Air Force. 'Air Chief Marshal' ranks above the Three Star rank of Air Marshal and below the Five Star rank of Marshal of the air force, which is largely a war-time or ceremonial rank.
WThe Air Force School (TAFS), formerly known as Air Force Central School (AFCS), was set up primarily to provide education to the children of Indian Air Force personnel.
WAir Marshal is a Three Star Air Officer rank in the Indian Air Force. It is the second-highest active rank in the Indian Air Force. 'Air Marshal' ranks above the Two Star rank of Air Vice Marshal and below the Four Star rank of Air Chief Marshal, which is held by the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS).
WAviation in India, broadly divided into military and civil aviation, is the fastest-growing aviation market in the world according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The hub of the nation's aviation manufacturing industry is at Bangalore which has a 65% share of this economic sector. The government's UDAN is driving the growth of civil aviation and aviation infrastructure in India.
WAir Marshal Vinod Bhatia, PVSM, AVSM, VrC and Bar is a retired Indian Air Force officer. He is also known as 'Jimmy'.
WAir Force Station, Bidar is one of the Premier Flying Training establishments of the Indian Air Force. It was established during World War II, has been a training centre for budding pilots of the IAF since 1963. The air base had trainer aircraft like HT2 and various variants of Kiran aircraft for nearly four decades. Now it has been remodelled and refurbished for the arrival of the Hawks. The runway has been extended to 9,000 feet and new facilities for aircraft and engine maintenance and testing are built.
WThe Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, was the position of hierarchy in the Indian Armed Forces, roughly based on the British Chiefs of Staff Committee. The senior-most Chief of Staff was appointed to serve as a Chairman until he retired. The last Chairman was the Chief of the Army Staff General Bipin Rawat. After the creation of the position of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), he will also be the permanent chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC). Until now, the chairmanship of the CoSC was held in rotation by the senior-most service chief for short periods and the arrangement was found to be unsatisfactory.
WThe Chief of Defence Staff of the Indian Armed Forces (CDS) is the professional service head of the Indian Armed Forces, the senior most uniformed military adviser to the Government of India, and the head of the Department of Military Affairs under the Ministry of Defence. In the Integrated Defence Staff, the CDS is the Chairman, Joint Commanders and Staff Committee and here the CDS has an operational role. As the service head of the armed forces, the Chief of Defence Staff is assisted by the three chiefs of staff of the army, navy and air force. The first and current CDS is General Bipin Rawat, taking over on 1 January 2020.
WCollege of Air Warfare (CAW) is a premier tri-service institution of the Indian Air Force. The college conducts courses and programmes in the art of Joint Warfare, with special emphasis on employment of Air Power. The functional and the administrative control of the college is with the Training Command of the IAF. The current Commandant of the College is Air Vice Marshal Dilip Kumar Patnaik who took over on 1 October 2019 from Air Vice Marshal S K Jha
WCope India Exercise are a series of international Air Force exercises between the Indian Air Force and the United States Air Force conducted on and over Indian soil. The first such exercise, which required many months of preparation, was conducted at the air force station in Gwalior from February 16 through February 27, 2004, with the US Air Force withdrawing troops and aircraft on February 27. The exercise included flight tests, practice and demonstrations as well as lectures on subjects related to aviation. There were also media functions and social interactions among troops of the two countries. After the event was over, the Indian Air Force indicated that "[t]he mutual respect and bonhomie that developed between members of the two sides have cemented a firm foundation for moving ahead towards higher bilateralism." According to press reports, representatives of the United States found it a "positive experience" that led to the re-evaluation of some assumptions about US air tactics. The exercise was repeated in 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2018.
WGuardians of the Skies is the first video game produced by the Indian Air Force, released in 2014. After an open tender process a private developer based in New Delhi, Threye, was chosen to develop the game. Air Marshal S. Sukumar launched the first phase of game on 3 July 2014. The first phase went onto get over a million downloads and won the "Best Indian Game" on its app store award from Microsoft in 2014 before the second phase was launched. On 12 December 2014 Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha launched phase two at the IAF Auditorium, New Delhi.
WHindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is an Indian state-owned aerospace and defence company headquartered in Bangalore (Bengaluru), India. It is governed under the management of the Indian Ministry of Defence.
WThe Indian Air Force Band, known officially as No. 1 Air Force Band is a full-time military band of the Indian Air Force. It is considered to be the primary musical unit of the IAF, currently stationed in Jalahalli. Outside the symphony orchestra, other military ensembles have included the following: Parade band, jazz ensemble, and vocalist group. It falls under the command of the Directorate of Organisation of the IAF.
WThe Indian Air Force Museum, Palam, is the museum of the Indian Air Force, and is located at the Palam Air Force Station in Delhi, India. The museum was the only one of its kind in India until the opening of the Naval Aviation Museum in Goa in 1998 and HAL Aerospace Museum in Bangalore in 2001. It stores the rich history of IAF. It is actively managed by AVM Vikram Singh, a second generation test pilot, enthusiastically keen historian and an avid writer of war books.
WThe Indian Air Force Test Pilot School is a unit of the Indian Air Force (IAF) that evaluates aircraft and systems for induction into user organisations. Most new aircraft types and major airborne systems must have ASTE's stamp of approval to be considered fit for service in India. While many countries have testing facilities of one kind or the other, training of flight test personnel is not often imparted in them. ASTE's Air Force Test Pilots School (AFTPS) is only the fifth such institution in the world.
WIndian Air Force: A Cut Above is the official free air combat mobile gaming application of the Indian Air Force first released on 31 May 2019. It was officially launched on 31 July 2019 by the Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa for Android and iOS. In November 2019 Google picked the game to be part of the Best Game 2019 awards. The Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Harjit Singh Arora released the multiplayer version of the game.
WThe Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) competition in India, also known as the MRCA tender, was a competition to supply 126 multi-role combat aircraft to the Indian Air Force (IAF). The Defence Ministry had allocated ₹55,000 crore (US$7.7 billion) at 2008 prices for the purchase of these aircraft, making it India's single largest defence deal. The MMRCA tender was floated with the idea of filling the gap between its future Light Combat Aircraft and its in-service Sukhoi Su-30MKI air superiority fighter.
WJorhat Airport also known as Rowriah Airport is located at Rowriah, 7 Kilometres South-West of Jorhat city, Assam, India. The civil enclave, run by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is the 2nd major airport in Assam, by number of passengers carried and cargo tonnage, according to the latest AAI traffic data
WMarshal of the Indian Air Force is a five star Air Officer rank and the highest attainable rank in the Indian Air Force. Marshal of the Indian Air Force is ranked immediately above Air Chief Marshal. It is a ceremonial or wartime rank, having been awarded only once.
WAir Chief Marshal Hrushikesh Moolgavkar, PVSM, MVC was a former Air officer in the Indian Air Force. He served as the 9th Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force from 1 February 1976 till 31 August 1978.
WThe Naval Aviation Museum is a military museum located in Bogmalo, 6 km from Vasco da Gama, Goa, India. This museum contains exhibits that showcase the evolution of the Indian Naval Air Arm over decades. The museum is divided into two main parts, an outdoor exhibit and a two-storey indoor gallery. The museum was inaugurated in October 1998 and is one of the two military aviation museums in India, the other being the Indian Air Force Museum, Palam in Delhi. The Naval Aviation Museum is the only of its kind in Asia.
WSarang is the helicopter air display team of the Indian Air Force that flies four modified HAL Dhruv helicopters, also known as Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH). The team was formed in October 2003 and their first performance was at the Asian Aerospace show, Singapore, in 2004. The name Sarang is symbolic; the peacock is the national bird of India. The unit was inducted as No. 151 Helicopter Unit in 2005 and was shifted from Yelahanka AFS, Bangalore to Sulur AFS, Coimbatore in 2009.
WSurya Kiran is an aerobatics demonstration team of the Indian Air Force. The Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) was formed in 1996 and are a part of the 52nd Squadron of the IAF. The team has since performed numerous demonstrations usually with nine aircraft. The squadron was composed of the HAL HJT-16 Kiran Mk.2 military trainer aircraft till 2011 and were based at the Bidar Air Force Station in Karnataka. The team was suspended in February 2011 and was re-established with Hawk Mk-132 aircraft in 2017.
WThe Vayu Sena Medal is a military decoration, usually awarded in peacetime for a job well done in the Indian Air Force. However it has been granted during times of conflict for acts of gallantry in the face of enemy, though not in the same numbers as the Vir Chakra.
WThe Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS) is the deputy to the Chief of the Air Staff of India and second-highest ranking officer of the Indian Air Force. The VCAS is a PSO at Air Headquarters at New Delhi. He is responsible for operation and flying related tasks. In the event that the Chief of Air Staff (CAS) is absent or is unable to perform his duties, the VCAS assumes the duties and responsibilities of the CAS. The VCAS is normally held by an officer of three star rank and is held by an air officer of the rank of Air Marshal.
WThe Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) is a decoration of the Indian armed forces. It is awarded to recognize "distinguished service of a high order" to all ranks of the Indian Armed forces.
WAll wings of the Indian Armed Forces allow women in combat roles and combat supervisory roles (officers), except Indian Army and Special Forces of India. Indian Air Force had 13.09% and 8.5%, Indian Navy 6% and 2.8% women, and Indian Army 3.80% and 3% in December 2018 and December 2014 respectively.