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 the North India floods in 2013......
The Indian Air Force 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. India salutes the mighty guardians of
the sky who keep vigil throughout the day and night to keep our nation safe
from any danger or enemy attack from the sky. Here are some interesting and fascinating facts
about the Indian Air Force.
October 8 is celebrated as Air Force Day because on
this day in 1932, India’s Air Force was officially raised as the supporting
force of the British Royal Air Force. India’s first operational squadron came
into being in April 1933. 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.
From 6 RAF-trained officers and 19 Havai Sepoys (air
soldiers) back in 1933, IAF is ranked fourth largest operational air force in
the world with a strength of around 1,70,000 personnel and over 1,500 aircraft.
Only the USA, China, and Russia are ahead of India. Indian Air Force is the fourth largest air force in the world. The motto of IAF is Nabha Sparsham Deeptam, which
translates from Sanskrit, meaning Touch the sky with Glory. The motto has been
taken from the 11th chapter of the Bhagvad Gita and the force tries to live up
to this motto.
Air Marshal Padmavathy Bandopadhyay became the first
Indian woman to be Air Marshal of the IAF and the second military servicewoman
to rise to the three-star rank. She has written a book about her service years
called The Lady in Blue: The Memoirs of India’s First Lady Air Marshal. Presently women are seen in different departments, including women fighter pilots.
IAF landed the C-130J Super Hercules plane at Daulat
Beg Oldie airstrip in Ladakh, which is the world’s highest airstrip. With this,
IAF created the record for the highest landing by an aircraft of this class at
a height of 16,614 feet above sea level.
IAF achieved another feat by airlifting a record
number of around 20,000 civilians during Operation Rahat, during the floods in
Uttarakhand in 2013. In a matter of 65 days, the IAF airlifted 23,892 civilians
and carried 797.589 T of valuable relief material. Apart from this the air force has participated in rescue mission, helped in disasters and provided relief in remote areas.
The Tajik Connection: Gissar Military Aerodrome (GMA)
is India’s first overseas base and is located west of the Tajik capital,
Dushanbe. It is jointly managed by India and Tajikistan. The airbase was
recently used by the IAF to evacuate Indian and Nepalese nationals from
Afghanistan in the aftermath of the Taliban takeover of Kabul. This is a strategic air base for India.
Since 1950, the IAF has been involved in four wars
with neighbouring Pakistan. Other major operations undertaken by the IAF
include Operation Vijay, Operation Meghdoot, Operation Cactus, and Operation
Poomalai. The IAF's mission expands beyond engagement with hostile forces, with
the IAF participating in United Nations peacekeeping missions. Here one should remember that Flying Officer Nirmal
Jit Singh Sekhon is the only IAF officer to receive the Param Vir Chakra, the
highest military bravery award. He was posthumously awarded for the bravery and
valor that he portrayed while defending the Srinagar Air Base during the
Indo-Pakistan war of 1971. He was martyred at the age of 28.
The President of India holds the rank of Supreme
Commander of the IAF. As of July 1, 2017, 1,70,576 personnel are in service
with the Indian Air Force. The Chief of the Air Staff, an air chief marshal, is
a four-star officer and is responsible for the bulk of operational command for
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 January 26, 2002,
Singh became the first and, so far, only five-star rank officer of the IAF.
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 the North India
floods in 2013. The IAF has also undertaken relief missions such as Operation
Rainbow in Sri Lanka.
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 organizations 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.
Tejas is in the news again. First batch of 16 revamped
Tejas to serve IAF. The Tejas Mark-1A Fighter Aircraft takes flight from the
Hindustan Aeronautics facility in Bengaluru to protect the nation.
With the Indian Air Force (IAF) having placed a Rs
48,000 crore order for 83 indigenous Tejas Mark 1A light combat aircraft (LCA)
from Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) in February 2021, the Bengaluru-headquartered
aerospace manufacturer is gearing up to deliver the first improved variant of
the fighter this year.
With the first Tejas Mark 1A fighter having
successfully test-flown in March, HAL’s chief says the first delivery will be
completed "in the next few months." Thereafter, the production of 180
Tejas Mark 1A fighters and successive variants will generate the bulk of HAL’s
income for the foreseeable future. Finally, we will get to see Tejas in action.
A made-in-India fighter in the sky!
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