This article provides a list of active Indian military aircraft currently in service with the Indian Armed Forces, as well as aircraft on order. For a list of historical military aircraft used by the Indian military, see list of historical aircraft of the Indian Air Force.
Aircraft | Origin | Type | Variant | In service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Helicopters | |||||
HAL Dhruv | India | utility | 70 [36] | 50 on order [37] [38] [39] | |
HAL Rudra | India | attack | 75 [40] [36] | ||
Alouette III | France/India | liaison / utility | Chetak | 4 [22] | license-built by HAL |
SA 315B Lama | France/India | liaison / utility | Cheetah | 40 | license-built by HAL - 4 on order [22] |
HAL Prachand | India | attack | 5 [27] | 90 on order [28] | |
Boeing AH-64 | United States | attack | AH-64E(I) | 6 on order [41] | |
UAV | |||||
Elbit Hermes 900 | Israel | Reconnaissance | 2 on order [42] | ||
IAI Eitan [43] | Israel | Reconnaissance | Heron TP | 4 [44] | 16 Heron on order [45] |
IAI Searcher [45] | Israel | Reconnaissance | Mk-III | <100 [46] | |
Ideaforge Switch [47] [48] | India | Surveillance | 1.0 | undisclosed quantities on order [47] | |
NewSpace NIMBUS [49] | India | Surveillance | Mk-III | 75 [49] | |
Raphe MPhibr MR-20 [50] | India | Cargo | 48 [50] | ||
NewSpace BELUGA [49] | India | Surveillance | 25 [49] |
Aircraft | Origin | Type | Variant | In service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Maritime patrol | |||||
Dornier Do 228 | Germany | reconnaissance | 101/201 [21] | 36 [60] | 2 on order [61] |
Helicopters | |||||
HAL Dhruv | India | utility | Mk. I / Mk. III | 4 / 16 [62] [63] [64] | 9 Mk.III on order [65] [66] |
HAL Chetak | France/India | utility | 17 [67] |
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is an Indian public sector aerospace and defence company, headquartered in Bangalore. Established on 23 December 1940, HAL is one of the oldest and largest aerospace and defence manufacturers in the world. HAL began aircraft manufacturing as early as 1942 with licensed production of Harlow PC-5, Curtiss P-36 Hawk and Vultee A-31 Vengeance for the Indian Air Force. HAL currently has 11 dedicated Research and development (R&D) centres and 21 manufacturing divisions under 4 production units spread across India. HAL is managed by a board of directors appointed by the President of India through the Ministry of Defence, Government of India. HAL is currently involved in designing and manufacturing of fighter jets, helicopters, jet engine and marine gas turbine engine, avionics, software development, spares supply, overhauling and upgrading of Indian military aircraft.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. 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 United Kingdom in 1947, the name Royal Indian Air Force was kept and served in the name of the Dominion of India. With the transition to a republic in 1950, the prefix Royal was removed.
The HAL Tejas is an Indian single-engine, advanced 4th generation delta wing multirole combat aircraft designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Indian Navy. Tejas made its first flight in 2001 and entered into service with the IAF in 2015. In 2003, the aircraft was officially named "Tejas". Currently Tejas is the smallest and lightest in its class of supersonic combat aircraft.
The HAL Dhruv is a utility helicopter designed and developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in November 1984. The helicopter first flew in 1992; its development was prolonged due to multiple factors including the Indian Army's requirement for design changes, budget restrictions, and sanctions placed on India following the 1998 Pokhran-II nuclear tests. The name comes from a Sanskrit origin word dhruv which means unshakeable or firm.
Aero 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.
Astra is an Indian family of all weather beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile, developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation. Different missiles of this family are capable of engaging targets at varying distances of 500 m (0.31 mi) up to 340 km (210 mi). Astra Mk-1 has been integrated with Indian Air Force's Sukhoi Su-30MKI and will be integrated with Dassault Mirage 2000, HAL Tejas and Mikoyan MiG-29 in the future. Limited series production of Astra Mk-1 missiles began in 2017.
The Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) is an Indian single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather fifth-generation stealth, multirole combat aircraft being developed for the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy. The Mark-1 variant of the aircraft will be a fifth generation fighter while the Mark-2 variant will have sixth-generation technologies. The aircraft is designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) - an aircraft design agency under MoD. A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) consisting of ADA, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and a private company is being formed for the development and production of AMCA. In March 2024, the project received approval from India's Cabinet Committee on Security for the prototype development.
The Indian Naval Air Arm is the aviation branch and a fighting arm of the Indian Navy which is tasked to provide an aircraft carrier-based strike capability, fleet air defence, maritime reconnaissance, and anti-submarine warfare.
Indian Air Force Academy, Dundigal is a Defence Service training institute located in Medchal-Malkajgiri district 43 km (27 mi) from Hyderabad, in the Indian state of Telangana.
The HAL Prachand is an Indian multi-role light attack helicopter designed and manufactured by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) under Project LCH. It has been ordered by the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army. Its flight ceiling is the highest among all attack helicopters.
The IAI Eitan is an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft developed in Israel in the early 21st century by the Malat division of Israel Aerospace Industries. The aircraft is a newer version of the IAI Heron. Along with intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTR), Israeli IAI Eitan also capable of holding armed roles. All exports of the aircraft are unarmed.
This is a timeline of the development of the HAL Tejas, a light-weight, multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
The Army Aviation Corps (AAC) is the youngest arm of the Indian Army, being formally designated on 1 November 1986. The Army Aviation Corps units are designated as Squadrons. Each squadron generally consists of two Flights. Reconnaissance (Recce) and Observation flights might be part of squadrons or operate independently. The latter do not have a parent squadron and are designated by an (I) in their name.
The Elbit Systems Hermes 900 Kochav ("Star") is an Israeli medium-size, multi-payload, medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designed for tactical missions. It is a successor to the Hermes 450 series of drones, one of the most widely used military drones in the world.
The Indian Air Force has been undergoing a modernization program to replace and upgrade outdated equipment since the late 1990s to meet modern standards. For that reason, it has started procuring and developing aircraft, weapons, associated technologies, and infrastructures. Some of these programs date back to the late 1980s. The primary focus of current modernization and upgrades is to replace aircraft purchased from the Soviet Union that currently form the backbone of the Air Force.
The HAL Rudra also known as ALH-WSI, is an armed version of the HAL Dhruv utility helicopter which is designed and produced by the Indian aerospace manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
The Indian Navy has been focusing on developing indigenous platforms, systems, sensors and weapons as part of the nation's modernisation and expansion of its maritime forces. As of November 2023, the Indian Navy has 67 vessels of various types under construction including destroyers, frigates, corvettes, conventional-powered and nuclear-powered submarines and various other ships. It plans to build up to a total of 200 vessels and 500 aircraft by 2050. According to Chief of Naval Staff's statement in December 2020, India has transformed from a buyer's navy to a builder's navy.
The HAL Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter (TEDBF) is a canard delta wing, twin-engine, carrier-based, multirole combat aircraft currently under development for the Indian Navy. The TEDBF is being designed and developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), and will be manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The TEDBF is intended to perform a multitude of missions, including air supremacy, air interdiction, anti-access/area denial (A2/AD), anti-ship warfare (ASW) and electronic warfare (EW) missions. The TEDBF is expected to replace the Mikoyan MiG-29K onboard the INS Vikramaditya and the INS Vikrant.