Indian Air Force
India's Air Force, the world's fourth largest, has over 600 combat aircraft and more than 500 transports and helicopters. The air force takes pride in its ability to fly low and fast, as well as to operate in the extremes of temperature and altitude ranging from the Thar Desert to the Siachen Glacier. The air force has enhanced the capability of its fighter force with the addition of the multi-role Sukhoi 30, and it hopes to replace much of its Mig-21 fleet with the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft currently under development.
As of mid-2000, the Indian Air Force had embarked on acquisition of systems for front line aircraft/helicopter for day/night operations, strengthening of the electronic warfare armour and acquisition of top of the line precision guided ammunitions, enhancement of air defence capabilities to ensure early detection and continuous surveillance of any enemy ingress and surface to air guided weapons to ensure lethality in IAF strike power.
The air force was established in 1932. In 1994, it had 110,000 personnel and 779 combat aircraft. The air force, which is headquartered in New Delhi, is headed by the chief of air staff, an air chief marshal. He is assisted by six principal staff officers: the vice chief of air staff, the deputy chief of air staff, the air officer in charge of administration, the air officer in charge of personnel, the air officer in charge of maintenance, and the inspector general of flight safety.
The air force is deployed into five operational commands: the Western Air Command, headquartered at New Delhi; the Southwestern Air Command, headquartered at Jodhpur, Rajasthan; the Eastern Air Command, headquartered at Shillong, Meghalaya; the Central Air Command, headquartered at Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh; and the Southern Air Command, headquartered at Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), Kerala. Additionally, there are two functional commands: the Training Command at Bangalore, Karnataka, and the Maintenance Command at Nagpur, Maharashtra. Of the seven IAF commands, the Western Air Command (WAC) is the most coveted as it covers a large chunk of the Indo-Pak border.
Aside from the Training Command at Bangalore, the center for primary flight training is located at the Air Force Academy at Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, followed by operational training at various air force schools. Advanced training is also conducted at the Defence Services Staff College; specialized advanced flight training schools are located at Bidar, Karnataka, and Hakimpet, Andhra Pradesh (also the location for helicopter training). Technical schools are found at a number of other locations.
The Air Force is composed of (i) Squadrons and Flights of various kinds of aircrafts such as Fighter, Bomber, Transport, Communication, Reconnaissance etc., (ii) Establishments for the training of officers in flying, technical and ground duties and of airmen in technical and their trades, (iii) Maintenance Units for the storage, custody, supply maintenance, repair and overhaul of Air Force equipment, and (iv) Command administrative and miscellaneous units. In addition to providing essential air defence for the country, the A.F. undertakes the transport of personnel and stores as required by the exigencies of the service, dropping of supplies in areas otherwise inaccussible and aerial surveys. In times of Natural Calamities, the Air Force aids the Civil authorities, wherever necessary.
In 1991, the government approved the induction of women into nontechnical air force officer billets, such as administration, logistics, accounting, education, and meteorology. In 1992 opportunities for "pioneer women officers" were opened in the areas of transportation, helicopters, and navigation, and the first group of thirteen women cadets entered the Air Force Academy. During their flight training, they qualified on HPT-32 and Kiran aircraft to earn their air force commissions. After completing ten months' training, five of the seven successful course graduates received further training on various transport aircraft. By 1994, there were fifty-five women officers in the air force.
Indian Air Force Fighter / Attack Aircraft
A fighter squadron nominally consists of 20 fighter aircraft, though in practice at times as few as 16 aircraft may make up a squadron. As of 2000, the Indian Air Force was equipped with twenty-two squadrons of ground attack fighters. Five of these squadrons have over eighty British Jaguar aircraft. Another five squadrons had over 130 Soviet-origin MiG-27 aircraft. The air force also fields twenty fighter squadrons, two of which are equipped with a about 40 French-built Mirage 2000 H/TH aircraft. The Indian Air Force has also recently acquired a small but growing number of Russian Su-30 multi-role combat aircraft. There were also twelve squadrons of transport aircraft in the inventory. Because of the large number of Soviet-origin aircraft, the air force is dependent on Russia for spare parts and equipment and weapons upgrades.
As of early 2002 the IAF reportedly planned to have around 35 combat squadrons by 2010, versus the existing 40, each equipped with the modern aircraft after around 300-350 MiG-21 variants are phased out. This revised plan apparently reflected the availability of imported aircraft, such as the Mirage 2000.
As of 2005, the Indian Air Force claimed to have 32-33 squadrons of fighter aircraft and sought to expand that to 40 squadrons. However, there were about 41 fighter squadrons active in the IAF, spread out among the five geographical commands. This discrepancy might arise from some squadrons not being officially disbanded despite their aircraft undergoing maintenance or being phased out. The IAF might be awaiting to resupply some of these squadrons from the 140 SU-30's being manufactured by HAL and the additional 126 multi-role fighter aircraft the IAF is expected to order in the near future.
From a peak of 39.5 squadrons in the mid-1980s, by early 2006 the IAF was down to 32 squadrons or less, seven below its sanctioned strength of 39.5 fighter squadrons and the lowest in over three decades. At that time, sixteen squadrons of the MiG-21 formed over 40 per cent of the fighter fleet, accounting for over half of all fighter aircraft sorties flown each year. The oldest MiG-21s - nearly 100 Type 77 aircraft - acquired in the early 1970s had reached the end of their 3,000-hour service life and were retired in 2007, causing the single largest void in the air force.
At least 500 other aircraft were to be phased out by 2015, including over 100 MiG-27 strike fighters, causing a gap in the IAF's ground attack capabilities. The last two MiG-23 squadrons, purchased in the 1970s, were retired in 2006, a year before their planned retirement as part of an accelerated phase-out of old aircraft with unreliable engines. A squadron of MiG-25 strategic recce aircraft was de-inducted on 01 May 2006. Replying to a query whether with the phasing-out of the Mig-25 the IAF reconnaissance needs were affected, Air Chief Marshal Fali H Major said 13 February 2009 that the role of ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) was a part and parcel of any Air Force and that the IAF has it. He also stated that there are better and efficient ways of getting ISR.
As of 2007 the Indian Air Force (IAF) had around 30-32 squadrons worth of serviceable combat aircraft. This was well below the target of 39 1/2. About 21 squadrons flew MiG-21s of one vintage or another, and overall squadron strength was projected to plunge to 27 during the 2012-2017 period.
At the beginning of the 11th Plan period [2007-12], the force had only 32 squadrons. In February 2009 Defence Minister A K Antony said that by the end of the 13th Plan period, Indian Air Force's combat fleet would be of 42 squadrons, more than the strength sanctioned by the Government. "During the period 2007-2022, the strength at the end of 11th, 12th and 13th Plan periods is expected to increase to 35.5, 35 and 42 squadrons respectively," Antony said in a written reply to a query in Rajya Sabha. Government had sanctioned the IAF to have a total of 39.5 squadrons of fighter aircraft. He said that the air force will reach the peak of strength with the induction of Su-30 MKIs, Jaguars, Medium Multi-role Combat Aircraft (M-MRCA), Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) and the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).
Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal F.H. Major said in July 2007 that the air force wanted to reduce the inventory in its combat jet arsenal to three aircraft systems only, and over the next few years, it would use the home-made Tejas as the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), the new MRCAs as the Medium Combat Aircraft (MCA) and the 35-ton SU-30MKIs as the Heavy Combat Aircraft (HCA).
Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal F H Major said in February 2009 that “Our plan is to use Su-30 MKIs, MRCAs, Tejas, upgraded Mirage-2000 and Mig-29 as well as Jaguar aircraft.” Air Chief Marshal Fali H Major said 13 February 2009 that the squadron strength envisaged by 2017 was 34 squadrons and the remaining strength was to be achieved by 2020.
