The Indian Air Force has aircraft and equipment of Russian (erstwhile Soviet Union), British, French, Israeli, U.S. and Indian origins with Russian aircraft dominating its inventory. HAL produces some of the Russian and British aircraft in India under license. The exact number of aircraft in service with the Indian Air Force cannot be determined with precision from open sources. Various reliable sources provide notably divergent estimates for a variety of high-visibility aircraft. Given below is the list of types of aircrafts used in the IAF.
Multi-role fighters and strike aircraft
IAF’s primary air superiority fighter with the additional capability to conduct air-ground (strike) missions is Sukhoi Su-30MKI. The IAF have placed an order for a total of 272 Su-30MKIs of which 170 are in service as of 2013.The Mikoyan MiG-29 known as Baaz (Hindi for Hawk) is a dedicated air superiority fighter and constitutes a second line of defence after the Sukhoi Su-30MKI. 66 MiG-29s are in service, all of which are currently being upgraded to the MiG-29UPG standard.The Dassault Mirage 2000, known as Vajra (Sanskrit for Thunderbolt) in Indian service, is the primary multirole fighter, the IAF currently operates 51 Mirage 2000Hs which are currently being upgraded to the Mirage 2000-5 MK2 standard. The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 serves as an Interceptor aircraft in the IAF. The IAF have phased out most of its MiG-21s and plans to keep only 125 that have been upgraded to MiG-21 Bison standard. These aircraft will be phased out between 2014 and 2017.The MiG-21s are planned to be replaced by the indigenously built HAL Tejas. Dassault Rafale Air superiority fighters will also be included in the fleet soon.
The SEPECAT Jaguar known as Shamsher and the Mikoyan MiG-27 known as Bahadur (Hindi for Valiant) serve as the IAF’s primary ground attack force.The IAF currently operates 139 Jaguars and over 100 MiG-27s.Â
Tanker and transport aircrafts
The IAF currently operates 6 Ilyushin Il-78MKIs in the aerial refueling (tanker) role. For strategic military transport operations the IAF uses the Ilyushin Il-76 known as Gajraj (Hindi for King Elephant) in Indian service. The IAF currently operates 17 Il-76s, which are to be replaced by a number of C-17 Globemaster IIIs in the near future.
The C-130J of the IAF is used by special forces for combined Army-Air Force operations. There are currently 6 C-130Js in service.The Antonov An-32 known as Sutlej (name of an Indian river) serves as medium transport aircraft in the IAF. The aircraft is also used in bombing roles and para-dropping operations. The IAF currently operates 105 An-32s, all of which are being upgraded.The Dornier Do 228 serves as light transport aircraft in the IAF. The IAF also operates Boeing 737s and Embraer ECJ-135 Legacy aircrafts as VIP transports and passenger airliners for troops. The Hawker Siddeley HS 748 once formed the backbone of the IAF’s transport fleet, but are now used mainly for training and communication duties, a replacement is under consideration.Â
Trainer aircrafts
The HAL HPT-32 Deepak is IAF’s basic flight training aircraft for cadets. The HPT-32 is to be phased out soon. The IAF uses the HAL HJT-16 Kiran MKI for intermediate flight training of cadets, while the HJT-16 Kiran MKII provides advanced flight and weapons training and also operated by the Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) of the IAF. The Kiran is to be replaced by the HAL HJT-36 Sitara. The BAE Hawk Mk 132 serves as an advanced jet trainer in the IAF and is progressively replacing the Kiran MKII. The IAF has begun the process of converting the Surya Kiran display team to Hawks. A total of 106 BAE Hawk trainers have been ordered by the IAF of which 39 have entered service as of July 2010.
75 Pilatus PC-7 Mk-II (Swiss Origin) are being inducted in the IAF, out of them 18 have been received, they will act as basic Trainers.Â
Helicopters
The HAL Dhruv serves primarily as a light utility helicopter in the IAF. In addition to transport and utility roles, newer Dhruvs are also used as attack helicopters. 4 Dhruvs are also operated by the Indian Air Force Sarang Helicopter Display Team.The HAL Chetak is a light utility helicopter and is used primarily for training, rescue and light transport roles in the IAF. The HAL Chetak is being gradually replaced by HAL Dhruv. The HAL Cheetah is a light utility helicopter used for high altitude operations. It is used for both transport and search-and-rescue missions in the IAF. The Mil Mi-8 and the Mil Mi-17 are operated by the IAF for medium utility roles. The Mi-8 is being progressively replaced by the Mi-17. The Mil Mi-26 serves as a heavy lift helicopter in the IAF. It can also be used to transport troops or as a flying ambulance. The IAF currently operates 4 Mi-26s. The Mil Mi-35 serves primarily as an attack helicopter in the IAF. The Mil Mi-35 can also act as a low-capacity troop transport.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
The IAF currently uses the IAI Searcher II and IAI Heron for reconnaissance and surveillance purposes. The IAI Harpy serves as an Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV) which is designed to attack radar systems. The IAF also operates the DRDO Lakshya which serves as realistic towed aerial sub-targets for live fire training.
Airborne early warning aircrafts
The IAF currently operates the EL/W-2090 Phalcon AEW&C. A total of 3 such systems are currently in service, with possible orders for 2 more.
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 Tashi Mishra, Editorial TeamShe is a defense aspirant from Varanasi completed her BCA. She has attended SSB Interview at 1 AFSB Dehradoon and has more SSB coming up. She is confident about joining Defence Forces one day. Here, she is sharing her views and experience. Mail us to join our editorial team now.
