INDIAN AIR FORCE
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks fourth amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflict. It was officially established on 8 October 1932 as an auxiliary air force of the British Empire which honored India's aviation service during World War II with the prefix Royal. After India gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, the name Royal Indian Air Force was kept and served in the name of Dominion of India. With the government's transition to a Republic in 1950, the prefix Royal was removed.
Since 1950 the IAF has been involved in four wars with neighboring Pakistan and one with the People's Republic of China. The IAF's mission expands beyond engagement with hostile forces, with the IAF participating in United Nations peacekeeping missions.
The President of India holds the rank of Supreme Commander of the IAF. As of 1 July 2017, 139,576 personnel are in service with the Indian Air Force.The Chief of Air Staff, an air chief marshal, is a four-star officer and is responsible for the bulk of operational command of the Air Force. There is never more than one serving ACM at any given time in the IAF. The rank of Marshal of the Air Force has been conferred by the President of India on one occasion in history, to Arjan Singh. On 26 January 2002, Singh became the first and so far, only five-star rank officer of the IAF.
History
The Indian Air Force was established on 8 October 1932 in British India as an auxiliary air force of the Royal Air Force. The enactment of the Indian Air Force Act 1932 stipulated out their auxiliary status and enforced the adoption of the Royal Air Force uniforms, badges, brevets and insignia.On 1 April 1933, the IAF commissioned its first squadron, No.1 Squadron, with four Westland Wapiti biplanes and five Indian pilots. The Indian pilots were led by British RAF Commanding officer Flight Lieutenant (later Air Vice Marshal) Cecil Bouchier.
Mission
The IAF's mission is defined by the Armed Forces Act of 1947, the Constitution of India, and the Air Force Act of 1950. It decrees that in the aerial battlespace:
Defence of India and every part there of including preparation for defence and all such acts as may be conducive in times of war to its prosecution and after its termination to effective demobilization.
In practice, this is taken as a directive meaning the IAF bears the responsibility of safeguarding Indian airspace and thus furthering national interests in conjunction with the other branches of the armed forces. The IAF provides close air support to the Indian Army troops on the battlefield as well as strategic and tactical airlift capabilities. The Integrated Space Cell is operated by the Indian Armed Forces, the civilian Department of Space, and the Indian Space Research Organisation. By uniting the civilian run space exploration organisations and the military faculty under a single Integrated Space Cell the military is able to efficiently benefit from innovation in the civilian sector of space exploration, and the civilian departments benefit as well.
The Indian Air Force, with highly trained crews, pilots, and access to modern military assets provides India with the capacity to provide rapid response evacuation, search-and-rescue (SAR) operations, and delivery of relief supplies to affected areas via cargo aircraft. The IAF provided extensive assistance to relief operations during natural calamities such as the Gujarat cyclone in 1998, the tsunami in 2004, and North India floods in 2013.The IAF has also undertaken relief missions such as Operation Rainbow in Sri Lanka.
Mentioned below are some of the crucial points in history where the IAF has played a major role in protecting the country.
1. The IAF witnessed one of the first conflicts in history with the Congo crisis. After Belgium's rule over Congo ended, the nation was immediately engulfed in widespread violence. The IAF activated a squadron which was equipped with English Electric Canberra to support the United Nations in Congo.
2. The Portuguese colony of Goa after years of disagreement with New Delhi and Lisbon witnessed the Indian Government conducting an attack, which eventually led to the capture of Goa and Daman and Diu.
3. The Bangladesh liberation war saw the zeal of the IAF where the forces were engaged in a war against Pakistan. This occurred after massive strikes were carried out by the PAF against the Indian Air Force installations in Srinagar, Ambala, Sirsa, Halwara and Jodhpur.
4. Operation Meghdoot: In 1984, India launched an attack to capture the Siachen region. With the eventual success of the operation, India gained full control of the Siachen Glacier.
5. Operation Safed Sagar: On May 11, 1999, the Indian Air Force provided close air support to the Indian Army in the ongoing conflict with the use of helicopters. The IAF by July 26 had successfully repelled the forces of Pakistan from Kargil.
Head
The President of India is the Supreme Commander of all Indian armed forces and by virtue of that fact is the national Commander-in-chief of the Air Force. The Chief of the Air Staff with the rank of Air chief marshal is the Commander.
Commands
The Indian Air Force is divided into five
operational and two functional commands. Each Command is headed by an Air
Officer Commanding-in-Chief with the rank of Air Marshal. The purpose of an
operational command is to conduct military operations using aircraft within its
area of responsibility, whereas the responsibility of functional commands is to
maintain combat readiness. Aside from the Training Command at Bangalore, the
primary flight training is done at the Air Force Academy (located in
Hyderabad), followed by operational training at various other schools. Advanced
officer training for command positions is also conducted at the Defence
Services Staff College; specialised advanced flight training schools are
located at Bidar, Karnataka and Hakimpet, Telangana (also the location for
helicopter training). Technical schools are found at a number of other
locations.
The commands are-
● Central Air Command(CAC)-Prayagraj,
Uttar Pradesh
● Eastern Air Command (EAC)-Shillong,
Meghalaya
● Southern Air Command (SAC)-Thiruvananthapuram,
Kerala
● South Western Air Command (SWAC)-Gandhinagar,
Gujara
● Western Air Command (WAC)-New
Delhi
● Training Command (TC)-Bangalore,
Karnataka
● Maintenance Command (MC)-Nagpur,
Maharashtra
STRUCTURE
Wings
A wing is a formation intermediate between a command and a squadron. It generally consists of two or three IAF squadrons and helicopter units, along with forward base support units (FBSU). FBSUs do not have or host any squadrons or helicopter units but act as transit airbases for routine operations. In times of war, they can become fully fledged air bases playing host to various squadrons. Wings are typically commanded by an air commodore.
Stations
Within each operational command are anywhere from nine to sixteen bases or stations. Smaller than wings, but similarly organised, stations are static units commanded by a group captain. A station typically has one wing and one or two squadrons assigned to it.
Squadrons and units
Squadrons are the field units and formations attached to static locations. Thus, a flying squadron or unit is a sub-unit of an air force station which carries out the primary task of the IAF. A fighter squadron consists of 18 aircraft; all fighter squadrons are headed by a commanding officer with the rank of wing commander. Some transport squadrons and helicopter units are headed by a commanding officer with the rank of group captain.
Flights
Flights are sub-divisions of squadrons, commanded by a squadron leader. Each flight consists of two sections.
Sections
The smallest unit is the section, led by a flight lieutenant. Each section consists of three aircraft.
Land-based missile systems
● Surface-To Air Missiles-The air force operates twenty-five squadrons of S-125 Pechora, six squadrons of 9K33 Osa-AK, ten flights of 9K38 Igla-1, eight squadrons of Akash along with a single squadron of SPYDER for air defence. Six squadrons of Akash were ordered in 2010 and an order for seven more squadrons is planned. An order for eighteen SPYDER systems was placed in 2008, which is expected to be organised into a total of four squadrons.
● Ballistic missiles-The IAF currently operates the Prithvi-II short-range ballistic missile (SRBM). The Prithvi-II is an IAF-specific variant of the Prithvi ballistic missile.
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Please provide these topics as early as possible. It's hinduring my preparation for SSB
ReplyDeleteIndian Air force is one of the strongest Air force in the world.
ReplyDeleteThe Moto of IAF is "touch the sky with glory".
The air force day is celebrated on 8th of October.
This year IAF turned 88.
Talking about the rank structure of air force from officer level, it begins from flying officer, flight lieutenant, squadron leader, wing commander, group captain, air commodore, Air vice Marshal, air Marshal and Air chief Marshal. Chief of Air staff is held by an officer at the rank of air chief Marshal.
IAF have 7 commands they are Central command in prayagraj, northern command in Delhi, eastern command in Shillong, southern command in Thiruvananthapuram, South-western command in Gandhinagar, training command in Bangalore and maintenance command in Nagpur. Each command has a commanding officer at the rank of air Marshal.
First air chief Marshal was Air chief Marshal Subroto Mukherjee.
The present Chief of air staff (COAS) is Air chief Marshal R.K.S Bhadauria. Indian Air force also have an honorary
Rank which is a five star rank wich was attained by only one person i.e. Marshal of the Air force Arjan singh in the year 2002.
Please Correct the title to "The Indian Air Force"
ReplyDelete