Service of State
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces, charged with securing Indian airspace and conducting aerial warfare. It is one of the three services under the Ministry of Defence, commanded by the Chief of the Air Staff and answerable through the government to the President of India as Supreme Commander. Its combat readiness — measured in fighter squadrons and the programmes meant to fill them — is a central lever of Indian deterrence.
Updated
- Established
- 8 October 1932 (as Royal Indian Air Force); Indian Air Force from 1950
- Headquarters
- Air Headquarters (Vayu Bhavan), New Delhi
- Commands
- Seven — five operational (Western, South Western, Central, Eastern, Southern) and two functional (Training, Maintenance)
- Fighter squadrons
- Sanctioned strength 42; roughly 29–31 fielded as of 2025–26
Role
The Indian Air Force is the air component of the Indian Armed Forces and one of the three services administered through the Ministry of Defence. Its stated primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflict; its secondary roles span strategic and tactical airlift, close air support to the Indian Army, maritime and reconnaissance support, combat search-and-rescue, and humanitarian assistance in aid to civil authorities. The service is organised into seven commands — five operational (Western, South Western, Central, Eastern and Southern) and two functional (Training and Maintenance) — and operates from Air Headquarters, Vayu Bhavan, in New Delhi.
As a seat of power, the IAF matters less through any individual than through what it can put in the air. Constitutionally, the President of India is Supreme Commander of the armed forces; day-to-day the service is led by the Chief of the Air Staff, an Air Chief Marshal, who sits alongside the other service chiefs and the Chief of Defence Staff under the civilian Defence Minister. The institution’s weight in Indian strategy is read chiefly through its combat aircraft holdings — measured against a long-sanctioned strength of 42 fighter squadrons — and through the procurement and indigenous-development programmes, from the Rafale to the AMCA and the Tejas line, meant to close the gap between authorised and actual strength.
Desk maintained by IndiaStand editorial cycles. Officeholders are transient; this dossier tracks the institution.
Timeline since 1947
- reference
Founded as the Royal Indian Air Force
The service was raised on 8 October 1932 under British India, taking to the air with a handful of aircraft the following year.
- reference
Redesignated the Indian Air Force
The prefix 'Royal' was dropped when India became a republic in 1950, and the service adopted its present name and ensign.
- reference
Decisive role in the 1971 war
The IAF secured air superiority over the eastern theatre during the war that led to the creation of Bangladesh, its largest air campaign to date.
- official
First series-production order for Tejas: 20 IOC-standard aircraft
The IAF signed its first production contract with HAL for 20 Initial Operational Clearance standard Tejas (16 fighters, 4 trainers), to be completed by December 2011; a second contract for 20 Final Operational Clearance standard aircraft followed on 23 December 2010. Both slipped by years, and the delay framed the squadron-strength problem that later procurement rounds were built around.
- official
Inter-Governmental Agreement with France for 36 Rafale in flyaway condition
After the 126-aircraft Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft competition failed to conclude, the government contracted 36 Rafale through a government-to-government agreement with France, approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security. The Ministry of Defence declined to disclose item-wise cost, citing confidentiality provisions of a 2008 India-France security agreement.
- official
First Tejas squadron raised — No. 45 Squadron takes IOC-standard aircraft
IOC-standard Tejas aircraft were inducted into No. 45 Squadron in July 2016, giving the IAF its first squadron of an Indian-designed fighter; the Ministry of Defence recorded over 1,500 sorties flown on the type by February 2019.
- official
Tejas Mk1 receives Final Operational Clearance
DRDO handed the Final Operational Clearance certificate and Release to Service Document to the Chief of the Air Staff, adding beyond-visual-range missile capability, air-to-air refuelling and air-to-ground weapons to the IOC standard. FOC-standard drawings were passed to HAL to begin production.
- official
Balakot strike on Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp
The Foreign Secretary announced that India had struck the largest JeM training camp at Balakot in an intelligence-led operation, describing it as a non-military preemptive action taken after the 14 February Pulwama attack. The Ministry of Defence later listed the Balakot airstrike among the MiG-21 fleet's operational engagements.
- official
CH-47F(I) Chinook heavy-lift helicopters inducted at Air Force Station Chandigarh
The IAF inducted the first of 15 Chinook helicopters contracted from Boeing in September 2015, with four delivered at induction and the fleet earmarked for the northern and eastern sectors.
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AH-64E Apache attack helicopters inducted at Air Force Station Pathankot
The IAF formally inducted the AH-64E Apache under a contract with Boeing and the US government for 22 helicopters, with eight delivered by the induction date and the balance due by March 2020; the type replaces the Mi-35 fleet and is deployed in the western sector.
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Cabinet creates Chief of Defence Staff post and Department of Military Affairs
The Union Cabinet approved a four-star Chief of Defence Staff who also heads a new Department of Military Affairs inside the Ministry of Defence as its Secretary — the structural change that placed the IAF, alongside the Army and Navy, under a joint military-affairs department for the first time.
- reference
First Rafale squadron inducted
No. 17 Squadron 'Golden Arrows' at Ambala received the first of 36 Dassault Rafale jets contracted from France in 2016, the IAF's first new fighter type in over two decades.
- official
DAC clears 21 MiG-29 and 12 Su-30 MKI to arrest squadron decline
Amid the border standoff, the Defence Acquisition Council approved procurement of 21 MiG-29 plus upgrade of 59 in service at about Rs 7,418 crore from Russia, and 12 Su-30 MKI from HAL at about Rs 10,730 crore, within a Rs 38,900 crore package explicitly addressing what it called the IAF's long-felt need to increase fighter squadrons.
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Rs 48,000 crore contract to HAL for 83 Tejas Mk1A — largest indigenous defence order
The Cabinet Committee on Security approved 73 Tejas Mk-1A fighters and 10 Mk-1 trainers at Rs 45,696 crore on 13 January 2021, with Rs 1,202 crore for design and infrastructure; the contract handed to HAL at Aero India was valued near Rs 48,000 crore, with indigenous content of 50 per cent rising toward 60 per cent.
- official
Contract for 56 C-295MW transport aircraft, 40 to be built in India
The Ministry of Defence contracted 56 C-295MW aircraft from Airbus Defence and Space to replace the ageing Avro fleet — 16 delivered flyaway from Spain and 40 manufactured in India by a Tata consortium, all fitted with an indigenous electronic warfare suite, deliveries within ten years.
- official
Cabinet clears Agnipath, replacing the IAF's permanent-enrolment recruitment model
The Union Cabinet approved four-year enrolment of Agniveers under the respective Service Acts with a one-time Seva Nidhi payout, 46,000 to be recruited in the first year, and the policy taking immediate effect to govern enrolment across all three services. The stated aim was to cut the average age profile of the armed forces by four to five years.
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Cabinet clears AMCA prototype development
The Cabinet Committee on Security approved development of the indigenous Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), a fifth-generation stealth fighter led by the Aeronautical Development Agency, in a project reported at about Rs 15,000 crore.
- official
66 Light Combat Helicopters Prachand ordered for the IAF
The Ministry of Defence signed two HAL contracts worth Rs 62,700 crore excluding taxes for 156 LCH Prachand — 66 to the IAF and 90 to the Indian Army — with supply beginning in the third year and indigenous content targeted above 65 per cent. The same day it wet-leased a KC-135 flight refuelling aircraft from Metrea, the IAF's first such lease.
- gdelt
Operation Sindoor
IAF fighters, including Rafales, conducted cross-border precision strikes against targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir over 7–10 May 2025.
- official
AMCA execution model approved
The Defence Minister approved on 27 May 2025 an execution model routing AMCA development through the ADA in industry partnership, with private and public firms bidding competitively as independents, joint ventures or consortia.
- official
Rs 62,370 crore contract for 97 more Tejas Mk1A, deliveries from 2027-28
The Ministry of Defence contracted 97 LCA Mk1A (68 fighters, 29 twin-seaters) from HAL at over Rs 62,370 crore excluding taxes, with indigenous content above 64 per cent and 67 items added over the January 2021 contract, including the UTTAM AESA radar. HAL followed on 7 November 2025 with an agreement for 113 GE F404-GE-IN20 engines delivered 2027-2032.
- official
MiG-21 decommissioned after six decades in IAF service
A ceremonial switch-off of six aircraft at Chandigarh ended the MiG-21's operational service; the Ministry of Defence recorded that roughly 850 of the more than 11,500 built worldwide had served with the IAF since 1963. Its withdrawal removed the IAF's oldest fighter line while Tejas Mk1A deliveries were still ramping.
- gdelt
Letter of Request issued for 114 MRFA fighters
India's Ministry of Defence issued a Letter of Request to France to open government-to-government negotiations for 114 Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (Rafale), following Acceptance of Necessity granted by the Defence Acquisition Council in February 2026; reporting described it as the largest single fighter requirement in the IAF's history, with most aircraft to be made in India.
Frequently asked
- What is Indian Air Force?
- The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces, charged with securing Indian airspace and conducting aerial warfare. It is one of the three services under the Ministry of Defence, commanded by the Chief of the Air Staff and answerable through the government to the President of India as Supreme Commander. Its combat readiness — measured in fighter squadrons and the programmes meant to fill them — is a central lever of Indian deterrence.
- When was Indian Air Force established?
- Indian Air Force was established 1932.
- What does Indian Air Force do?
- Its remit covers Securing Indian airspace and conducting aerial warfare in armed conflict, Air defence, offensive strike, and strategic and tactical airlift, Close air support to the Indian Army and maritime support to the Indian Navy, Reconnaissance, surveillance, and combat search-and-rescue, Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in aid to civil authorities.
- What is the latest on Indian Air Force?
- As of 2026-07-05: Letter of Request issued for 114 MRFA fighters. India's Ministry of Defence issued a Letter of Request to France to open government-to-government negotiations for 114 Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (Rafale), following Acceptance of Necessity granted by the Defence Acquisition Council in February 2026; reporting described it as the largest single fighter requirement in the IAF's history, with most aircraft to be made in India.
Official sources
The government's own pages for this institution — go straight to the primary.
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Canonical IAF home — Air Headquarters (Vayu Bhawan); verified title "Indian Air Force: Touch The Sky With Glory".
indianairforce.nic.in/
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MoD annual report archive (English); the IAF chapter is the primary yearly account of force structure, acquisitions and operations.
www.mod.gov.in/en/annual-report
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PIB press release consolidating the defence year — budget allocation, contracts, indigenisation lists, Operation Sindoor.
www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2210154
- India Code — Air Force Act, 1950 legislation
Act No. 45 of 1950, the statute constituting and governing the IAF; page also carries rules, regulations and notifications.
www.indiacode.nic.in/handle/123456789/1819