TABLE A: Summary of estimates of the Indian Air Force active aircraft fleet*
| Combat Aircraft – Air Superiority | 420 (Incl 30 Trainers) |
| Ground Attack | 102 (Incl 31 Trainers) |
| Second Line Combat Aircraft | – |
| Helicopters | 359 |
| Transport Aircraft | 247 |
| Trainers | 229 |
| TOTAL | 1262 |
TABLE B: Detailed Type Wise Break up
| Type | Sqn Est | Sqn Nos | Total No of Units | Est Combat | Est Trainers | ||
COMBAT AIRCRAFT |
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|
Air Superiority and Multi Role |
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| MiG-29 | 16 As and 2 UMs | 28, 47, 223 | 3 | 48 | 6 | ||
| Mirage 2000H | 16 Hs and 2 THs 6 THs and 4 Hs |
1, 7 9 |
3 | 36 | 10 | ||
| MiG-21 Bison | 16 Bison and 2 U | 3, 4, 21, 23, 32, 51 | 6 | 96 | 12 | ||
| Sukhoi-30 MKI | 16 MKI | 2, 8, 15, 20, 22, 24, 30, 31, 102, 106, 220, 222 | 12 | 192 | |||
| HAL Tejas | 16 | 45 | 1 | 2 | |||
| MiG-21Bis | 16 + 2 Us | 26 | 1 | 16 | 2 | ||
| Total for Air Superiority and Multi Role | 390 | 30 | |||||
|
Ground Attack |
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| Jaguar IS | 16 IS + 2 IT | 5,14,16,27, 224 | 5 | 80 | 10 | ||
| Jaguar IM | 6 IM+ 2 IT+ 4 IS | 6 | 1 | 10 | 2 | ||
| Total for Ground Attack | 90 | 12 | |||||
| Total Combat Aircraft | 29 | 480 | 42 | ||||
HELICOPTERS |
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| Mi-17 | 12 | 127, 128, 129, 130, 152, 153, | 6 | 72 | |||
| Mi-17 V-5 | 12 | 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159 | 6 | 72 | |||
| Mi-24/35 | 10 | 125 | 1 | 10 | |||
| Apache | 10 | 104 | 1 | 10 | |||
| Chinook | 10 | 126HF | 1 | 10 | |||
| Chetak | 8-12 | 111,115, 116,141SSS F, 142SSS F,HTS | 6 | 48 | |||
| Cheetah | 12 | 114,131F,132F, | 2 | 24 | |||
| Dhruv | 6-12 | 117, 151 | 2 | 18 | |||
| Total Helicopters | 366 | ||||||
TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT |
|||||||
| C-17 (3) | 81 | 1 | 3 | ||||
| Il-76 MD (17) | 44,25 ‘A’ | 1.5 | 15 | ||||
| Il-78 MKI (6) | 78 | 1 | 6 | ||||
| A-50E (3) | 50 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| C-130J (6) | 77 | 1 | 5 | ||||
| An-32 (119) | 12,25’B’,33,43,48,49,PTS, TTW | 7 | 104 | ||||
| HS-748 (68) | 11, 41 ‘A’, 59, 106 ‘A’ , 6 Cmd Flts(2 A/c) | 4 | 64 | ||||
| Do-228 (24) | 41, TTW, 6 Comm Flts(2 A/c) | 2.5 | 40 | ||||
| Boeing 737 | Air HQ Flt | 1 | 4 | ||||
| Embraer 135BJ | Air HQ Flt | 1 | 4 | ||||
| Total Transports | 247 | ||||||
TRAINER AIRCRAFT |
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| HJT-16 Kiran | AFA(A), AFA(B) , FIS , FTW, 52 | 84 | |||||
| BAe Hawk Mk 132 | HOTS, OCU | 70 | |||||
| Pilatus PC-7 | AFA | 75 | |||||
| Total Trainers | 229 | ||||||
| Total Fleet* | 991 | 271 | |||||
Number plated Units: Fighter 10,29 Transport: 19, 42, Helicopter 105,107,109,110,112,118,119,121,122F
Change Log:
01 Jan 2020: MiG-27s retired Mi-26s retired – 222 and 22 to be raised on Sukhois
10 Dec 2017: Mi-8 helicopters retired – Numbers to be updated
01 Jul 2016: No.45 Squadron re-raised on two HAL Tejas
15 May 2016: No.15 Squadron noted at Red Flag 2016 on Sukhoi-30
29 Jul 2015: Hawk number updated. HPT32 numbers removed from total.
21 Jun 2015: MiG-21FLs phased out, Mi-17 V5 Units added, updated numbers on C-130s, PC-7s and Hawks
01 Sep 2013: No.81 Squadron raised on three C-17 aircraft at Hindan
10 Jul 2013: No.220 Squadron, No.157 HU details added. Deepaks may be phased out
01 Mar 2011: No.102 Squadron re-raised at Tezpur
05 Feb 2011: C-130J inducted into No.77 Squadron
15 Dec 2010: A-50, BAe Hawk, Mi-26 Numbers Updated.
18 Oct 2009: Illyushin-76 Numbers Updated
10 Oct 2009: 35 Sqn updated. Hawk Numbers Updated
30 Sept 2009: Hawk Operational Training Squadron (HOTS) added, An-32 Numbers Updated
24 Aug 2009: No.2 Squadron (Su-30 MKI) reported in Vayu
28 May 2009: A-50 Phalcon AEW inducted
06 Mar 2009: MiG-23BNs phased out, No.221 Squadron Numberplated
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* Editors Note: Does not include Attrition Reserves, aircraft of ARC. This estimate is based on the number of units and the standard Unit Establishment of aircraft that each unit is eligible to hold. The numbers on this page will not reflect the actual numbers held by IAF units. The number of each type of aircraft may appear to be less than the total procured by the IAF as the totals here does not take into account Storage reserves. Any shortfall between the estimates here and the total procured does not automatically mean that the rest of the aircraft were lost in attrition. For Example, The total number of Mirage 2000s procured by IAF stand at 49 till date. Till date six of these have been lost in attrition. However the total Mirages held by the Units will only show 36 instead of 43 as the rest will be in storage. The totals above does not include any aircraft held by such establishments like TACDE, ASTE, AFTPS, HAL or ADA.