Indian Air Force

Structure of Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force was established in British India as an auxiliary air force
of the Royal Air Force with the enactment of the Indian Air Force Act 1932 on
8 October that year and adopted the Royal Air Force uniforms, badges,
brevets and insignia.
On September 18, 1947, the Department of the Air Force was created under
the National Security Act of 1947.
MISSION & OBJECTIVE
 The Primary objective of IAF is to defend the nation and its airspace
against Air threats in coordination with Army and Navy.
 The secondary purpose is to assist civil power during natural calamities
and internal disturbances.
 The IAF provides close air support to the Indian Army troops in the
battlefield and also provides strategic and tactical airlift capabilities.
 IAF also provides strategic air lift or secondary Airlift for the Indian
Army.
 The IAF also operates the Integrated Space Cell together with the other
two branches of the Indian Armed Forces, the Department of Space
and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
 Rescue of civilians during natural disasters
 Evacuation of Indian nationals from foreign countries in case of
instability or other problems
Ranks
The IAF has ten commissioned officer (CO) ranks, of which the highest is that
of Marshal of the Indian Air Force (MIAF), a ceremonial five-star rank. The
rank was awarded for the first, yet only time in January 2002 to then-retired
Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh DFC, who served as the IAF's third Chief of the
Air Staff (CAS) between 1964 and 1969, for his exceptional leadership of the
IAF during the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War.
The highest operational rank in the IAF is the four-star rank of Air Chief
Marshal, currently held exclusively by the CAS; coincidentally, the first time
the rank was awarded was also to Singh in 1966, when he was then a Air
Marshal. Prior to him, CAS appointees belonged to the three-star rank of Air
Marshal.
Formation of Indian Air Force 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 center for primary flight training is
located at the Air Force Academy in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, followed by
operational training at various other schools. Advanced officer training for
command positions 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.
Here is a list of Commands:
Operational Commands Central Air Command (CAC), headquartered at

Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh
Eastern Air Command (EAC), headquartered at Shillong, Meghalaya
Southern Air Command (SAC), headquartered at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
South Western Air Command (SWAC), headquartered at Gandhinagar,

Gujarat
Western Air Command (WAC), headquartered at Subroto Park, New Delhi
Functional Commands Training Command (TC), headquartered at Bangalore,

Karnataka
Maintenance Command (MC), headquartered at Nagpur, Maharashtra

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. In all, about 47 Wings and 19 FBSUs make up the
IAF. Wings are typically commanded by a Group Captain.
Squadrons
Squadrons are the field units and formations attached to static locations.
Thus, a Flying Squadron is a sub-unit of an air force station which carries out
the primary task of the IAF. 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.

Within this formation structure, IAF has several service branches for day-to-
day operations.
They are:
Flying Branch
 Flying
Technical Branch
 Engineering
Ground Branch
 Logistics
 Administration
 Accounts
 Education
 Medical & Dental
 Meteorological
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.
Chief of the Air Staff with the rank of Air Chief Marshal is the Commander of
the Indian Air Force.

Indian Air Force

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Structure of Indian Air Force

MISSION & OBJECTIVE

Each Command is headed by an Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief with the

The purpose of an operational command is to conduct military operations

Here is a list of Commands:

Operational Commands Central Air Command (CAC), headquartered at

Eastern Air Command (EAC), headquartered at Shillong, Meghalaya

Southern Air Command (SAC), headquartered at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

South Western Air Command (SWAC), headquartered at Gandhinagar,

Western Air Command (WAC), headquartered at Subroto Park, New Delhi

Functional Commands Training Command (TC), headquartered at Bangalore,

Maintenance Command (MC), headquartered at Nagpur, Maharashtra

A Wing is a formation intermediate between a Command and a Squadron. It

Flights are sub-divisions of Squadrons, commanded by a Squadron Leader.

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