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 honoured India's aviation service during World War II with the prefix Royal. After India gained independence from 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 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.
The President of India holds the rank of Supreme Commander of the IAF. As of 1 July 2017, 1,39,576 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 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.
| Chief of the Air Staff | |
|---|---|
 Flag of the Chief of the Air Staff |
The Chief of the Air Staff is the head of military staff of the Indian Air Force. The CAS is the leader of the governing body of the Air Force, and is usually the highest ranking officer of the Air Force unless the Chief of Defence Staff of the Indian Armed Forces is taken as an officer of the aerial branch of the armed forces. The position is abbreviated as CAS in the Indian Air Force cables and communication, and is always held by a full Air Chief Marshal since 1966. The chief is directly responsible for leading the Indian Air Force as the chief military adviser on aerial affairs. They are responsible for coordinating and chairing the military air staff of the Air force and ultimately are subject to the Chief of Defence and the government of India.
Air Marshal Commanding, Royal Indian Air Force (1947–1948)
| No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Air Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst CB, KBE, AFC (1895–1982) | 15 August 1947 | 20 June 1948 | 310 days |
Chief of the Air Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Air Force (1948–1950)[edit]
| No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Air Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst CB, KBE, AFC (1895–1982) | 21 June 1948 | 25 January 1950 | 1 year, 218 days |
Chief of the Air Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Indian Air Force (1950–1955)
| No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Air Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst KBE, CB, AFC (1895–1982) | 26 January 1950 | 23 February 1950 | 28 days | |
| 2 | Air Marshal Sir Ronald Ivelaw-Chapman KBE, CB, DFC, AFC (1899–1978) | 23 February 1950 | 9 December 1951 | 1 year, 289 days | |
| 3 | Air Marshal Gerald Ernest Gibbs CIE, CBE, MC & Two Bars (1896–1992) | 10 December 1951 | 31 March 1954 | 2 years, 111 days | |
| 4 | Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee OBE (1911–1960) | 1 April 1954 | 31 March 1955 | 1 year, 0 days |
Chief of the Air Staff (1955–present)
| No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee OBE (1911–1960) | 1 April 1955 | 8 November 1960 † | 5 years, 221 days | |
| 5 | Air Marshal Aspy Merwan Engineer DFC (1912–2002) | 1 December 1960 | 31 July 1964 | 3 years, 243 days | |
| 6 | Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh DFC (1919–2017) | 1 August 1964 | 15 July 1969 | 4 years, 348 days | |
| 7 | Air Chief Marshal Pratap Chandra Lal DFC (1916–1982) | 16 July 1969 | 15 January 1973 | 3 years, 184 days | |
| 8 | Air Chief Marshal Om Prakash Mehra PVSM (1919–2015) | 16 January 1973 | 31 January 1976 | 3 years, 15 days | |
| 9 | Air Chief Marshal Hrushikesh Moolgavkar PVSM, MVC (1920–2015) | 1 February 1976 | 30 August 1978 | 2 years, 241 days | |
| 10 | Air Chief Marshal Idris Hasan Latif PVSM (1923–2018) | 1 September 1978 | 30 August 1981 | 3 years, 29 days | |
| 11 | Air Chief Marshal Dilbagh Singh PVSM, AVSM, VM (1926–2001) | 1 September 1981 | 3 September 1984 | 3 years, 2 days | |
| 12 | Air Chief Marshal Lakshman Madhav Katre PVSM, AVSM (1926–1985) | 3 September 1984 | 1 July 1985 † | 301 days | |
| 13 | Air Chief Marshal Denis Anthony La Fontaine PVSM, AVSM, VM (1929–2011) | 3 July 1985 | 31 July 1988 | 3 years, 28 days | |
| 14 | Air Chief Marshal Surinder Kumar Mehra PVSM, AVSM, VM (1932–2003) | 1 August 1988 | 31 July 1991 | 2 years, 364 days | |
| 15 | Air Chief Marshal Nirmal Chandra Suri PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC (born 1933) | 31 July 1991 | 31 July 1993 | 2 years, 0 days | |
| 16 | Air Chief Marshal Swaroop Krishna Kaul PVSM, MVC, ADC (born 1935) | 1 August 1993 | 31 December 1995 | 2 years, 152 days | |
| 17 | Air Chief Marshal Satish Kumar Sareen PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC (born 1939) | 31 December 1995 | 31 December 1998 | 3 years, 0 days | |
| 18 | Air Chief Marshal Anil Yashwant Tipnis PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC (born 1940) | 31 December 1998 | 31 December 2001 | 3 years, 0 days | |
| 19 | Air Chief Marshal Srinivasapuram Krishnaswamy PVSM, AVSM, VM (born 1943) | 31 December 2001 | 31 December 2004 | 3 years, 0 days | |
| 20 | Air Chief Marshal Shashindra Pal Tyagi PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC (born 1945) | 31 December 2004 | 31 March 2007 | 2 years, 90 days | |
| 21 | Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major PVSM, AVSM, SC, VM, ADC (born 1947) | 31 March 2007 | 31 May 2009 | 2 years, 61 days | |
| 22 | Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik PVSM, VSM, ADC (born 1949) | 31 May 2009 | 31 July 2011 | 2 years, 61 days | |
| 23 | Air Chief Marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC (born 1951) | 31 July 2011 | 31 December 2013 | 2 years, 153 days | |
| 24 | Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC (born 1954) | 31 December 2013 | 31 December 2016 | 3 years, 0 days | |
| 25 | Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa PVSM, AVSM, YSM, VM, ADC (born 1957) | 31 December 2016 | 30 September 2019 | 2 years, 273 days | |
| 26 | Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC (born 1959) | 30 September 2019 | 30 September 2021 | 2 years, 0 days | |
| 27 | Air Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari PVSM, AVSM, VM | 30 September 2021 | - | −5 days |
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