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.
Air Officer Commanding (AOC) is a title given in the air forces of Commonwealth nations to an air officer who holds a command appointment which typically comprises a large, organized collection of air force assets. Thus, an air vice marshal might be the AOC 38 Group. The equivalent term for army officers is general officer commanding (GOC), from where the air force term was derived.
Idris Hasan Latif, PVSM was a former air officer in the Indian Air Force. He served as the 10th Chief of Air Staff (CAS) of the Indian Air Force (IAF) from 1978 to 1981. After retiring from the air force, he served as 11th Governor of Maharashtra from 1982 to 1985.
Kanpur Airport, is a domestic airport and an Indian Air Force base that serves the city of Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located at Chakeri, about 17 km (11 mi) from the city centre, and operates from a new civil terminal. It provides connectivity to major tourist and historical attractions in the area such as Bithoor, Sankissa, Etawah Safari Park, Kalinjar Fort, Kalpi, National Chambal Sanctuary, Bhitargaon and Kannauj.
The Western Air Command (WAC) is the regional command of Indian Air Force headquartered in New Delhi. It is the largest and most important Air Command of the IAF, comprising sixteen Air Force Bases (AFBs), and is responsible for aerial defence of North India.
Hakimpet Air Force Station is an Indian Air Force (IAF) base under the Training Command. It is located 25 kilometres north of Hyderabad Central Nampally Railway Station, and 18 km north of Secunderabad Railway Junction in the state of Telangana. It houses the Fighter Training Wing, the Helicopter Training School, No. 43 Equipment Depot and ancillary units. There is one runway, aligned east–west (09-27), of 7,384 feet (2,251 m) length x 150 feet (46 m) width.
Air Marshal Ramaswamy Rajaram, DFC (1917–1969) was a senior officer in the Indian Air Force. He died in harness while serving as the Vice Chief of Air Staff (VCAS) of the Indian Air Force. He was the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Air Command during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.
Air Marshal Cheppudira Devaiah Subbaiah is a former pilot and officer in the Indian Air Force.
The Air Headquarters Communication Squadron (Pegasus)(AHQCS) of the Indian Air Force is based at Air Force Station Palam, New Delhi. It is a transport squadron which maintains a fleet of aircraft with the primary aim of providing air transport to the President, Vice President and Prime Minister of India, within and outside the country, and to visiting foreign heads of State, categorized as VVIPs.
No. 104 Helicopter Squadron is a fighter squadron and is equipped with Mil Mi-35 and based at Suratgarh Air Force Station.
No. 45 Squadron Indian Air Force is a Fighter Squadron internally based at Sulur AFS, Tamil Nadu. The squadron operates the indigenous HAL Tejas fighter from 1 July 2016. The squadron was initially based at Bangalore, Karnataka and later shifted to its main base in Sulur from 1 June 2018.
Air Marshal Balakrishnan Suresh PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC is a retired officer of the Indian Air Force. He served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C), Western Air Command from 1 November 2019 following superannuation of Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar, till the day of his retirement on 31 July 2020.
Raja Nahar Singh Faridabad Air Force Logistics Station (RAFLS), the 54 ASP logistics base of the Indian Air Force's Western Air Command (WAC), is located at sector-50 of Dabua colony of Faridabad city in Haryana state of India. Headed by a Logistics Group Captain, it is home of the Guard Dog Training Unit and the 56th Air Storage Park.
Air Vice Marshal Harjinder Singh, PVSM, MBE was an Air Officer in the Indian Air Force. He was one of the earliest to join the newly created Indian Air Force (IAF) in 1933 in the lowest rank of 'Hawai sepoy'. In a career spanning over three decades and two wars, he rose from the lowest enlisted rank to the then second-highest rank in the Indian Air Force. Hailed as technical wizard and innovator, he is considered a legend of the IAF.
Air Marshal Prithi Singh PVSM, AVSM, VM & Bar, ADC was an officer of the Indian Air Force. He served as Air Officer Commanding in Chief (AOC-in-C), Western Air Command from 1 August 1988 to 30 April 1992. During his 40 years in the Indian Air Force, Singh flew about 102 different types of aircraft and their 120+ versions setting a record in IAF of flying most number of aircraft.
Air Commodore Narendra was an officer of the Indian Air Force (IAF). One of the pioneers of the IAF, he last served as the Air Officer-in-charge Technical and Equipment Services at Air HQ. He was killed when his Dakota aircraft crashed near Gülnar in Southern Turkey. At the time of his death, he was the third senior-most officer of the IAF, after Air Marshals Subroto Mukerjee and Aspy Engineer.
Air Marshal Radhakrishnan Radhish, PVSM, AVSM, VM is a retired officer of the Indian Air Force. He served as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C), Training Command. He assumed the office on 1 January 2023 succeeding Air Marshal Manavendra Singh.
Air Marshal Vibhas Pande, PVSM, AVSM, VSM is a retired officer of the Indian Air Force. He served the 37th Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C), Maintenance Command. He assumed the office on 14 June 2022 succeeding Air Marshal Shashiker Choudhary.
