The IAF's Command Structure

Introduction - Air HQ

Air Headquarters is located at New Delhi is commanded by the Chief of Air Staff. The IAF currently has five operational commands, each of which is under an AOC-in-C (Air Officer Commander-in-Chief) with the rank of Air Marshal. The IAF also has two additional commands - Training Command and Maintenance Command - to maintain a uniform standard in training and maintenance.

Western Command was raised as No.1 Operational Group on Independence 27 Sep 47. In 1949, It was redesignated as Operations Command. In 1962, with the raising of Central Air Command, Operations Command was renamed as Western Air Command. WAC is the most important of the five regional commands. It controls air operations north of Jaipur, including the capital and Punjab, from Kashmir south to Rajasthan. There is an Air Operations Group at the Udhampur AFB, formed in 1982, is dedicated to the defence of Jammu & Kashmir and also includes Ladakh. There is an advanced headquarters located near the Army's Western Command at Chandigarh.

Western Air Command features several permanent airbases at Adampur, Ambala, Avantipur, Chandigarh, Halwara, Hindan, Leh, Palam, Srinagar and Pathankot with forward base support units (FBSUs) at Amritsar, Bhatinda, Sirsa and Udhampur. The WAC features air defence squadrons consisting of the MiG-21, MiG-23 and MiG-29. The ground attack squadrons consists of the MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-27 and Jaguar IS.

EAC was first raised at Rani Kutir in Calcutta. Then it was shifted to Tezpur in 1963. By the end of 1963, the HQ was shifted to Shillong (Meghalaya). EAC controls air operations in the eastern sector which includes West Bengal, Assam, Mizoram and the other eastern states bordering Bangladesh, Burma and Tibet. Eastern Air Command (EAC) features permanent airbases at Chabua, Gauhati, Bagdogra, Barrackpore, Hashmira, Jorhat, Kalaikunda and Tezpur with forward airbases at Agartala, Culcutta, Panagarh and Shillong. EAC features AD squadrons consisting of the MiG-21 and ground attack squadrons consisting of the MiG-27.

Initially raised at Rani Kutir, near Calcutta, CAC shifted  its headquarters to Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh) in 1966. it controls air operations in all of central India, from Delhi to Bengal. This command was reduced in size with the establishment of the Southern Air Command. The CAC features permanent airbases at Agra, Bareilly, Gorakhpur, Allahabad, Gwalior, Nagpur and Kanpur. Central Air Command features air defence squadrons consisting of the Mirage 2000 and the MiG-21. It is the main transport command with aircraft like the IAF's workhorse - the An-32, the long range heavy lift IL-76MD and the Dornier Do-228 which are used in the utility role. CAC also has helicopter squadrons like the Mi-8 Hip & Mi-17 Hip and the heavy lift, Mi-26 Halo.

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SWAC was converted from the No.1 Ops Group of WAC which was then located at Jodhpur. In May 1998, it moved its HQ to Gandhinagar. It controls air operations in the south western air sector, which includes most of Rajasthan, and south through Gujarat to Saurashtra, and Kutch to Pune. Because SWAC has no sensitive adjacent areas, its task has been largely air defence, however, it is now reported to have a strike mission profile. South Western Air Command features permanent airbases at Bhuj, Jaisalmer, Nalia, Jamnagar, Jodhpur, Barmer and Poona with forward airbases at Ahmedabad, Nal, Suratgarh and Uttarlai. The SWAC features air defence squadrons consisting of the MiG-21, MiG-29 and Su-30. The ground attack squadrons consist of the MiG-21 and the MiG-23. SWAC also has a maritime attack squadron, which consists of the Jaguar IM.

With its headquarters located at Akkulam in Trivandrum (Kerala), it controls air operations in the southern sector which includes all the southern states, the Bay of Bengal, the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshwadeep. Southern Air Command features permanent airbases at Bidar, Bangalore, Begumpet, Dundigal, Hakimpet, Tambaram, Port Blair and Car Nicobar with forward airbases at Madurai and Salur. Some airbases also have training and support units. SAC features no combat aircraft squadrons, but could do so in an emergency like the operations in Maldives in 1987 where Mirage 2000s from Gwalior AFB in Central Air Command participated.

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Training Command traces out its lineage from the No.2 Training Group which was set up immediately after Independence. Training Group was redesignated as Training Command in 1949. Although its headquarters is located at J C Nagar, Bangalore (Karnataka) most of the flying and ground training establishments are located in central and southern India.

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MC was raised as Maintenance Group at Chakeri in Kanpur in 1950. in 1955, It was designated as Maintenance Command. Its current  headquarters is located at Vayusena Nagar in Nagpur (Maharashtra), it handles the repair, overhaul and maintenance of all aircraft, helicopters and other equipment. MC has about Nine Base Repair Depots taking care of the overhaul and mainenance of various types of aircraft.

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