The Indian Armed Forces consists of Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force. These three arms and the Indian Coast Guard operate a combination of combat, reconnaissance, tanker, and transport aircraft, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles.
The Sukhoi Su-30MKI, assembled in India, forms the major inventory of the Indian combat aircraft. HAL Tejas, the indigenous fourth generation fighter aircraft, became part of the air force in 2015. Dassault Rafale is the latest entry into the air force, having been inducted in July 2020. Other combat aircraft include the Russian Mikoyan MiG-29, French Dassault Mirage, and British SEPECAT Jaguar aircraft. The armed forces operate a combination of various transport aircraft including tactical and strategic airlifters. Majority of this fleet is composed of the legacy Antonov An-32, Dornier 228, and Hawker Siddeley HS 748 aircraft. In the 2010s, the air force inducted large American air-lifters such as Boeing C-17 and Lockheed Martin C-130J into the fleet. In 2023, it started inducting Airbus C-295 transport aircraft to replace the older aircraft in its fleet.
The Indian helicopter fleet consists of the French Aérospatiale Alouette III and SA 315B Lama, which were license built in India. The Russian made Mil Mi-17 and Mi-24 forms the major complement of the helicopter fleet. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has designed and built various helicopters locally for the usage of armed forces such as the HAL Dhruv, Prachand, and Rudra. Since the late 2020s, India has inducted American made Boeing AH-64 Apache and CH-47 Chinook into the fleet. The Indian fleet also consists of various other reconnaissance and trainer aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles which include both local and imported planes.
Air Force
The Indian Air Force was established in 1932 as the Royal Indian Air Force of British India. The air force operates about 90 air squadrons including 29 equipped with fighter aircraft. The air force maintains a fleet of combat, patrol, and Military transport aircraft, various helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles across more than 60 air bases in the country.
AircraftOriginTypeVariantIn serviceNotes Combat Dassault Mirage 2000FranceMultirole Mirage 2000H/I36 All aircraft being upgraded to 2000I variantDassault Rafale Rafale EH28 Single-seat version, 114 plannedRafale DH8Two-seat version HAL Tejas India Tejas Mk 130Tejas crashes: Tejas Mk 1A 141 on orderMikoyan MiG-29Soviet Union MiG-29B40MiG-29 crashes: MiG-29UPG12 Upgraded version of MiG-29B MiG-29UB7 Two-seat version Sukhoi Su-30MKI Russia / India Su-30MKI258 12 on order, 84 to be upgraded SEPECAT Jaguar United Kingdom / India Attack Jaguar-IM8Single-seat maritime strike version Jaguar-IS78Single-seat ground attack versionFighter trainers Dassault Mirage 2000 France Conversion trainer Mirage 2000TH/TI10All aircraft being upgraded to 2000TI variantHAL TejasIndiaLead-in fighter trainer / conversion trainer Tejas Mk 1 Trainer8 10 on order Tejas Mk 1A Trainer– 29 on order SEPECAT Jaguar United Kingdom / India Conversion trainer Jaguar-IB26Two-seat training version AEW&C Beriev A-50 Soviet UnionAEW&C A-50EI3 Embraer EMB-145I Brazil / India Netra Mk1/Mk1A3 6 planned Airbus A321 Europe / India Netra Mk2 – 6 ex-Air India aircraft, to be modified Reconnaissance Bombardier Global 5000 Canada / Israel ELINT Global 50002Operated by Aviation Research Centre of R&AW Boeing 707United StatesReconnaissance 707-337C1 Boeing 737 737-7002 Gulfstream III III SRA3 Gulfstream G100 Israel 1125 Astra2 Tanker Airbus A330 MRTT France Tanker/transport A330 MRTT– One to be wet leased from French Air Force, 6 planned Boeing KC-135 United StatesTanker KC-135R1 Wet leased from Metrea Ilyushin Il-78 Soviet Union Il-78MKI6 Transport Airbus A321 EuropeTransport A321-2004 Boeing 777 United States 777-300ER2 Used as Air India One Embraer Legacy 600 Brazil VIP transport Legacy 60004 Airbus C-295 Europe / IndiaTactical airlifter C-295W16 40 on orderAntonov An-32Soviet Union An-32RE55 An-3247 Dornier 228 Germany / India 228-201626 on order Hawker Siddeley HS 748 United Kingdom HS 74856 Lockheed Martin C-130JUnited States C-130J-3012 Boeing C-17Strategic airlifter C-17A11 Ilyushin Il-76 Soviet Union Il-76MD17 HelicoptersAérospatiale Alouette IIIFrance / IndiaUtility Chetak79 Cheetal18 Aérospatiale SA 315B Cheetah18 HAL DhruvIndia Dhruv Mk I/III95 HAL Light Utility Helicopter LUH– 6 on order Boeing CH-47 United StatesTransport CH-47F15 Mil Mi-17 Russia Mi-17V-5222 Boeing AH-64 United StatesAttack AH-64E22 HAL Prachand India Prachand10 66 on order HAL Rudra India Rudra16 Mil Mi-24 Russia Mi-25/35P15 Trainer BAE Hawk United Kingdom / India Advanced trainer Hawk 132102 HAL KiranIndia Intermediate trainer HJT-1677 HAL HTT-40Basic trainer HTT-403 67 on order Pilatus PC-7 Switzerland PC-7 Mk II74 Pipistrel Virus Slovenia Ab-initio trainer Garud72 UAV IAI HeronIsraelSurveillance Heron Mk II9 2 on order IAI Searcher Searcher Mk IIFew MQ-9 Reaper United States Combat / Surveillance SkyGuardian– 8 on order
Army Aviation Corps
The Army Aviation Corps was formed on 1 November 1986. It operates a series of helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles.
AircraftOriginTypeVariantIn serviceNotes Helicopters Aérospatiale Alouette IIIFrance / IndiaUtility Chetak60 To be phased out by 2033. Aérospatiale SA 315B Cheetah115 HAL DhruvIndia Dhruv Mk I/II/III78 25 on order HAL Light Utility Helicopter LUH– 6 on order; 110 planned Boeing AH-64 United States Attack AH-64E6 HAL PrachandIndia Prachand5 90 on order; 95 planned HAL Rudra Rudra74 UAV Asteria ATIndiaSurveillance AT-15Unknown DRDO Nishant Nishant13 IAI HeronIsrael Heron Mk II4 IAI Searcher Searcher Mk I/II12 IFT SwitchIndia Switch 1.0200More on order Johnnette JF JF-2Unknown Newspace Beluga/Nimbus Swarm Beluga/Nimbus100 Endure Sabal Cargo Sabal 20Unknown Raphe mPhibr MR MR-2048 Gati Grenade launcher Gati– 20 on order MQ-9 Reaper United States Combat / Surveillance SkyGuardian– 8 on order Elbit Hermes 900Israel / India Surveillance Drishti-1011 on order
Naval Air Arm
The air arm of the Indian Navy was established in 1948. The navy operates 26 air squadrons stationed across eight naval air stations that operate under the flag officers of the various naval commands. The air arm maintains a fleet of combat and maritime patrol aircraft, various helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles.
AircraftOriginTypeVariantIn serviceNotes Combat Dassault Rafale FranceMultirole Rafale M 26 (22 single-seat and four twin-seat) on orderMikoyan MiG-29KRussia MiG-29K34 MiG-29KUB6 Two seater Patrol / Utility Boeing P-8 United States ASW / Patrol P-8I126 planned Britten-Norman BN-2 United Kingdom Patrol / Utility BN-2B/2T4 Dornier 228 Germany / India Patrol / Surveillance 228-20131 Includes 4 upgraded, rest being upgraded. 8 more on order Helicopters Aérospatiale Alouette III France / IndiaUtility Chetak42 HAL Dhruv India Dhruv Mk I/III24 Kamov Ka-27 Russia ASW Ka-2814 Westland Sea KingUnited KingdomWS-61 Mk 42B25UtilityWS-61 Mk 42C Kamov Ka-31 Russia AEW Ka-3114 Sikorsky SH-60 United States Combat / Utility MH-60R22 2 on order Trainer BAE Hawk United Kingdom / IndiaJet trainer Hawk 13217 HAL Kiran India HJT-1618 Pipistrel Virus Slovenia Ab-initio trainer Garud12 UAV Elbit Hermes 900 Israel / India Surveillance Drishti-10110 planned IAI Heron Israel Heron Mk I10 General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper United States Combat / Surveillance SeaGuardian2 15 on order
Coast Guard The Indian Coast Guard is a maritime armed force, which was formed in 1978. It is involved in the protection of the maritime and offshore assets, and protecting the oceanic boundaries. The coast guard operates various ships and aircraft including fixed wing reconnaissance aircraft and helicopters.
AircraftOriginTypeVariantIn serviceNotes Patrol Dornier 228 Germany / India Patrol / Reconnaissance 228-101/20141 2 upgraded in 2024, 2 inducted in 2026; 8 on order Helicopters Aérospatiale Alouette III France / IndiaUtility Chetak19HAL Dhruv India Dhruv Mk I4 Dhruv Mk III 19 11 on order
See also Active military equipment by country Historical aircraft of the Indian Air Force Indian Army equipment Indian military missiles Indian military radars Indian Navy ships Indian weapons of mass destruction
Notes
References
Bibliography
External links The Official Home Page of Indian Air Force.