There are a number of newer air stations being built as well, in line with India's strategic doctrine. The Indian Navy has some separate air stations for its aviation wing.
Western Air Command is the largest Air Command. It operates sixteen air stations from Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and a couple of Air stations in Uttar Pradesh. Eastern Air Command operates fifteen air stations in eastern and north-eastern India. Central Air Command operates two air stations in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and surrounding states of central India. Southern Air Command's tasks include protecting the vital shipping routes. It operates nine air stations in Southern India and two in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. South Western Air Command is the front line of defence against Pakistan. This important command operates twelve air stations in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
List of air stations
Map of this section's coordinates
Map this section's coordinates usingOpenStreetMapDownload coordinates asKML
Note: Station and unit details are from Scramble.nl (2009) and outdated.[1] Article needs to be revised/updated.
The other Air Force stations that come under Maintenance Command are not air stations and are mostly signal units and station repair depots situated in different towns. Delhi, for example, has a few BRDs and SUs that come under Maintenance Command.
Nyoma ALG[15] serves two separate noncontiguous but closely located disputed areas of Chumar North and Chumar South. Being upgraded to Mudh Air Base capable of fighter jet and transport aircraft operations.[16][17]
Padum ALG[15] Serves Ladakh LAC and Kargil LOC as a second line of defence airport.
Kullu-Manali Airport,[22] civil airport available for military use. Serves Kaurik, Tashigang-Shipki La, and Nelang-Pulam Sumda disputed area.
Kibber-Rangrik, surveyed as of July 2020,[22] construction was approved in the January 2023 to be completed by 2024–25.[23] Will be closest ALG to Chumar, Kaurik, and Tashigang-Shipki La disputed area.
To be reactivated as of September 2025. The airstrip was utilised by the United States Air Force as a staging ground during the The Hump airlift campaign of the World War II. Following the Indian Independence, the strip was converted into mud-paved runway. However, the plans to revive the facility never went through and has not seen combat service since 1947.[19]
In India, road runways are called 'emergency landing facilities' (ELF). ELFs are activated in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, and union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. A total thirteen locations have been chosen for development of such road runways.[30]
Yamuna Expressway: India has successfully tested its road runway on a stretch of the Yamuna Expressway in Uttar Pradesh on 21 May 2015.[31] It was built at a cost of ₹130 billion for its combat jets of the Indian Air Force (IAF), a first for military aviation in the country. In June 2016, the Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari announced that the government was considering developing 'road runways' for commercial operations as well.[32]
National Highway 44 (Anantnag): an ELF was tested on 2 April 2023 from 03:45 to 04:30 am in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district. The road runway is 3.5 kilometres (2.2 miles) long. Five helicopters, including two Chinook, two Dhruv, and one Mi-17 of IAF were part of the trial. It also included Sukhoi Su-30MKI and HAL Tejas. The road runway construction started in 2020 at a cost of ₹119 crore (equivalent to ₹140croreorUS$17million in 2023).[30][39]
Ganga Expressway: Indian Air Force fighter jets and transport aircraft conducted landing and take-off drills on 2 May 2025 from its 3.5km (2.2mi)-long airstrip on the Expressway near Shahjahanpur. This is the first such airstrip in India with night landing capacity. To assess the capability the drill was conducted in two phases in both day and night (9 pm to 10 pm IST). The aircraft included Su-30MKI, Mirage 2000, MiG-29, Jaguar, C-130J Super Hercules, An-32, and the Mi-17 V5 helicopter.[40][41][42]
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