page_title: Indian Air Force
section_title: Personnel
hierarchical_section_title: Indian Air Force / Personnel
caption_attribution_description: English: Uniforms of the Indian Air Force. An odd numbered dress is considered Winter Dress and an even numbered dress is considered Summer Dress. Aiguillette are worn by Air Officers. When an officer wears a No. 3 or No. 4 dress without the aiguillette, it is considered No. 3A or 4A dress respectively. Only the dresses in bold are displayed in the image. The complete list of dresses are available at the IAF Website. Dress No. 1 &amp; 2— Ceremonial Dress No. 3 &amp; 4— Semi-Ceremonial Dress No. 5 &amp; 6— Working Dress.
context_page_description: The Indian Air Force 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 the 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 and one with the People's Republic of China. 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.
context_section_description: Over the years reliable sources provided notably divergent estimates of the personnel strength of the Indian Air Force after analysing open-source intelligence. The public policy organisation GlobalSecurity.org had estimated that the IAF had an estimated strength of 110,000 active personnel in 1994. In 2006, Anthony Cordesman estimated that strength to be 170,000 in the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) publication "The Asian Conventional Military Balance in 2006". In 2010, James Hackett revised that estimate to an approximate strength of 127,000 active personnel in the IISS publication "Military Balance 2010".
  As of 1 July 2017, the Indian Air Force has a sanctioned strength of 12,550 officers (12,404 serving with 146 under strength), and 142,529 airmen (127,172 serving with 15,357 under strength).
caption: Officers of the IAF in their uniform.
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