Dear Warriors, As recently in the news The Indian Air force is now the world’s 3rd strongest air force globally and IAF overtakes the Chinese Air Force in WDMMA Global Air Powers Ranking 2022 in terms of the number of personnel and the number of assets it operates. Let us take a look at some amazing pictures of Indian Air Force Aircrafts That Will Motivate You To Join the Indian Air Force.
The inventory of the airforce is huge with various types of transport, support, combat, and utility helicopters and aircraft. Here we try to list all the active planes and helicopters maintained by the Indian Air Force.
- SU-30 MKI: Twin seater twin-engine multirole fighter of Russian origin which carries One X 30mm GSH gun along with 8000 kg external armament. It is capable of carrying a variety of medium-range guided air-to-air missiles with active or semi-active radar or Infrared homing close range missiles. It has a max speed of 2500 km/hr (Mach 2.35).
- Mirage-2000: A single-seater air defence and multi-role fighter of French origin powered by a single-engine can attain a max speed of 2495 km/hr(Mach 2.3). It carries two 30 mm integral cannons and two Matras super 530D medium-range and two R-550 magic II close combat missiles on external stations.
- MiG-29: Twin engine, single seater air superiority fighter aircraft of Russian origin capable of attaining max. speed of 2445 km per hour (Mach-2.3). It has a combat ceiling of 17 km. It carries a 30 mm cannon along with four R-60 close combat and two R-27 R medium-range radar-guided missiles.
- MiG-21 BISON: Single engine, single seater multirole fighter/ground attack aircraft of Russian origin which forms the backbone of the IAF. It has a max speed of 2230 km/hr (Mach 2.1) and carries one 23mm twin-barrel cannon with four R-60 close combat missiles.
- Jaguar: A twin-engine, single seater deep penetration strike aircraft of Anglo-French origin which has a max. speed of 1350 km /hr (Mach 1.3). It has two 30mm guns and can carry two R-350 Magic CCMs (overwing) along with 4750 kg of external stores (bombs/fuel).
- AVRO Twin-engine turboprop: military transport, and freighter of British origin having a capacity of 48 paratroopers or 6 tonnes freight and max cruise speed of 452 km/hr.
- MI-17 V5: The Mi-17 V5 is a potent helicopter platform, equipped with modern avionics and glass cockpit instrumentation. They are equipped with state-of-art navigational equipment, avionics, weather radar and are NVG-compatible.
- MI-26 Twin engine turboshaft: A military heavy-lift helicopter of Russian origin with a carrying capacity of 70 combat-equipped troops or 20,000 kg payload. It has a max speed of 295 km/hr.
- MI-25/MI-35 Twin engine turboshaft: Assault and anti-armour helicopter capable of carrying 8 men assault squad with four-barrel 12.7 mm rotary gun in nose barbette and up to 1500 Kg of external ordnance including Scorpion anti-tank missiles. It has a max cruise speed of 310 km/hr.
- Dornier Twin-engine turboprop: Logistic air support staff transport aircraft of German origin capable of carrying 19 passengers or 2057 kg freight. It has a max speed of 428 km/hr.
- AN-32 Twin-engine turboprop: Medium tactical transport aircraft of Russian origin with a crew of five and capacity to carry 39 paratroopers or max load of 6.7 tonnes. It has a max cruise speed of 530 km/hr.
- IL-76: A four-engine heavy duty/long haul military transport aircraft of Russian origin with a max speed of 850 km/hr. It has a twin 23 mm cannon in tail turret and the capacity to carry 225 paratroopers or 40 tonnes freight, wheeled or tracked armored vehicles.
- C-17 Globemaster III: The aircraft is capable of carrying a payload of 40-70 tons up to a distance of 4200-9000 km in a single hop.
- C-130J Super Hercules: The aircraft is capable of performing paradrop, heavy drop, casualty evacuation and can also operate from short and semi-prepared surfaces. C-130J is the heaviest aircraft to land at DBO in Aug 2013.
- Dassault Rafael: The latest addition to India’s aircraft arsenal, India has signed a deal for 36 Dassault Rafale multirole fighter aircraft. The first five aircraft including three single-seater and two twin-seater aircraft arrived on 29 July 2020, at the Air Force Station, Ambala. No 17 Squadron, the “Golden Arrows”, is being raised at this base equipped with Rafale aircraft.
Below Are Some Defence Entries For Indian Air Force That You Can Join In 2022 & 2023.
If you are air force aspirant and want to join the Indian Air Force as an officer in 2022 and 2023, here are the upcoming officer’s entries that you can look for. The Indian Air Force finds potential officers through the entries like NDA, CDS, AFCAT, NCC and Meteorology. In this article, you can find the details on these Indian Air Force entries and exams and how one can preparing these defence exams.
1. National Defence Academy Exam
The NDA exam is conducted by UPSC for the aspirants who are in 10+2 and want to join the Army, Navy and Airforce after 12th.
- NDA 2 2022 Exam: NDA 2 2022 exam will be conducted by the UPSC on 4th September 2022. To read more about NDA 2 2022, visit the link
- NDA 1 2023 Exam: NDA 1 2023 exam will be conducted by the UPSC on 16 April 2023. Candidates can apply for this exam from 21 December 2022 to 10 January 2023. To read more about NDA 1 2023, visit this link
2. AFCAT – AirForce Common Admission Test
AFCAT is the most popular exam to join the Indian Air Force as an officer, through AFCAT men and women can join the flying, technical and non-technical branches of the Indian Air Force.
- AFCAT 2 2022 Exam: AFCAT 2 2022 exam will be conducted by the Indian Airforce on 26 Aug 22, 27 Aug 22, and 28 Aug 22. Candidates can apply for this exam from 1 June 2022 to 30 June 2022. To read more about AFCAT 2 2022, visit the link
- AFCAT 1 2023 Exam: AFCAT 1 2023 exam will be conducted by the Indian Airforce tentatively in the month of February 2023.
3. Combined Defence Services Exam [CDS Exam]
The CDS Exam is conducted by UPSC for the aspirants who are in the final year of graduation or passed out of college. Through CDS exam, one can join, IMA, AFA, INA and OTA. Women can only join OTA Chennai through CDS Exam.
- CDS 2 2022 Exam: CDS 2 2022 exam will be conducted by the UPSC on 4th September 2022. To read more about CDS 2 2022, visit the link
- CDS 1 2023 Exam: CDS 1 2023 exam will be conducted by the UPSC on 16 April 2023. Candidates can apply for this exam from 21 December 2022 to 10 January 2023. To read more about CDS 1 2023, visit this link
4. NCC SPECIAL ENTRY
NCC special entry is published along with the AFCAT entry. Aspirants with NCC C certificate can apply for this entry. With NCC Special entry you can only apply for the flying branch of the IAF. 10% seats out of CDSE vacancies for PC and 10% seats out of AFCAT vacancies for SSC.
Eligibility: NCC Air Wing Senior Division ‘C’ certificate acquired on or after 01 Dec 17 is mandatory. Candidates should have mandatorily passed with a minimum of 60% marks each in Maths and Physics at 10+2. Graduates with a minimum of three years degree course in any discipline from a recognized University with a minimum of 60% marks or equivalent. OR BE/B Tech degree (Four years course) from a recognised University with a minimum of 60% marks or equivalent OR Candidates who have cleared Section A & B examination of Associate Membership of Institution of Engineers (India) or Aeronautical Society of India from a recognised University with a minimum of 60% marks or equivalent.
Candidates who apply for NCC Special Entry are called for AFSB testing at one of the AFSB centres. The AFSB centres are at Dehradun (1 AFSB), Mysuru (2 AFSB), Gandhinagar (3 AFSB), Varanasi (4 AFSB) and Guwahati (5 AFSB).
Start Your SSB Interview Prep and Join Daily Live Classes
So we have seen the entries like NDA, CDS, AFCAT, NCC through which you can join the Indian Air Force as an officer. To prepare for these written exams, do not forget to download SSBCrackExams Learning App.
To join Indian Air Force as an Officer and crack the AFSB interview, You can join our SSB interview live classes batch and we recommend you to Enroll SSB INTERVIEW ONLINE COURSE. Trusted by thousands of defence aspirants.
Note: Pic Credits to IAF and respective owners
