Indian Air Force has played very instrumental roles in almost all the wars the country has fought. Besides, they have undertaken various rescue programmes in case of disasters. It was established on October 8, 1932, so that’s why Indian Air Force Day is observed on this day. This year, the country is celebrating the 88th Indian Air Force Day.
Recently, Indian Air Force made headlines when five Rafale fighter jets were formally inducted into its fleet. After the import of Sukhoi jets from Russia, the Rafale jets are the country’s first major acquisition of fighter planes in 23 years.
As India commemorates Indian Air Force Day 2020, here are some lesser known facts about the IAF.
• The Indian Air Force has been an important part of various operations including Operation Poomalai, Operation Meghdoot, Operation Cactus and Operation Vijay.
• It also takes part in peacekeeping missions initiated by the United Nations.
• Its motto is “Nabha Sparsham Deeptham”, which has been borrowed from the chapter 11 of the Bhagavad Gita.
• Hindon Air Force Station situated in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad is the largest air base in Asia. It is also the eighth largest in the world.
• IAF is the fourth largest Air Force in the world. Only, the US, Russia and China are ahead of India.
• The Indian Air Force made a world record while rescuing people stranded during the Uttarakhand flash floods. The mission of rescuing civilians was named Raahat and during this, the IAF airlifted about 20,000 people.
• The Garud Commando Force, founded in 2004, has 2000 personnel. The training course for this course is of 72 weeks. The period of training in this course is the longest among all the Indian special forces.
• As of now, 10 women fighter pilots and 18 women navigators provide their service to the Indian Air Force, which has a total strength of 1,875 women officers. The Rafale fleet of the IAF will also have a woman fighter pilot.
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