Calibrating the Indian Air Force

The Indian Air Force (IAF) is projected to be the fourth most powerful air force globally, with a fleet of approximately 2,229 military aircraft. This places India behind the United States, Russia, and China in terms of aircraft numbers. The IAF is actively modernizing its fleet, incorporating both domestically produced and foreign-sourced aircraft, while also focusing on indigenous defense manufacturing.

Indian Air Force is one of the most powerful Air Forces in the world, with the giant fleet of 1720+ aircrafts. Indian Air Force or IAF is growing fast, the growth of IAF is necessary for the safety of the nation because India have 2 war fronts. On the East side of the border, India is facing the mighty Chinese Armed Forces and on the west there is Pakistan, which is not so powerful yet capable to inflict heavy damage to India.

Indian Air Force has participated in 3 wars and defended the national interest even by going out of their cards, they had faced more powerful and advance enemy in history but now the scene has changed a little, Indian Air Force is not the same as it was in the previous wars.

Indian Air Force is a defensive force but there is a little change in the tactic, now they believe in the concept of offence is the best form of defence because heaven reside under the shade of sword. So here is the list of the swords of IAF in the event of war.

270 Sukhoi 30MKI- No doubt the most capable Fighter jet in the IAF. 4.5th generation fighter, belonging to the ‘Heavy category’ . Based of the Russian Su-30, but customized by India in design and including Indian and Western Avionics and Weapons system. Built by HAL in India. Cons include heavy maintenance , low availability and high radar signature.

Su-30Mki is India’s ace of spade when it comes to air power demonstration, Su-30Mki is one of the most advance flankers in the world, when India bought it was nothing special but India upgraded the flanker and made it world class.

Su-30Mki have Panthar PESA radar which is capable to search area up to 400 Km and scan upto 200 Km, flanker is also called Mini AWEC due to its powerful radar. Su-30Mki has a tremendous range of 3000 Km, it has a speed of Mach 2(2100 Km/hr) with a climbing rate of 300 m/s.

Su-30Mki has 12 hard points on which it can carry various types of ammunition weighing up to 8 tons including precision guided bombs, Air to Air missiles, Air to Surface missiles and even supersonic cruise missiles. Su-30MKi is one of the finest fighters in the world and can be consider as the backbone of the Indian Air Force.

The third most advanced 4.5th generation jet in the IAF after the Su-30MKI and Rafale and belongs to the ‘Light category’. Has among the most advanced flight design and flight controls in the world. The only aircraft in the IAF with some degree of Stealth. Cons include Less operational range and weapons load due to its small size.

The Dassault Rafale is a French Twin-Engine,Canard Delta wing,Multirole fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation for a wide range of short and long-range missions, including ground and sea attacks, reconnaissance, high-accuracy strikes and nuclear strike deterrence.

Mig-29 UPG is currently one of the advanced fighters in the world and the best among all the Mig-29’s. IAF has recently upgraded their Mig-29’s in the Mig-29 UPG. Indian Air Force Mig-29 UPG is very similar to the SMT variant but Indian version is unique as it has foreign-made avionics suites.

The upgraded Mig’s have Zhuk-M AESA radar, a IFR probe for advancement in dog fights and enhanced RD-33 series 3 turbofan engines.

Will serve till the late 2030s/early 2040s eventually will be replaced by HAL AMCA.

India recently signed a contract with Russia to buy 21 Mig-29 fighter jets after the deadly border conflict with China.

Medium Weight Fighter or (MWF) and is being designed as a replacement for the Mirage 2000 with a view to surpassing its capabilities in almost every respect

The Indian Air Force (IAF) is supposed to operate 42 fighter squadrons to defend a country

"The aircraft has accumulated close to one million flying hours, making it the most flown fighter in Europe and the Middle East."

To date, there have been 729 orders for Eurofighter: 125 to export customers and 604 to the four core nations of Germany, Spain, Italy and the UK. There have been 612 deliveries to date.