Thread by @Testbookdotcom

Here are some mind-blowing facts about the Indian Air Force.

Interesting Facts | A Thread 🧵⬇️

#TestbookTalks #IndianAirForce #IAF #IndianArmy #Testbook

The Indian Air Force is the air division of the Indian Armed Forces whose prime role is to protect Indian skies and execute aerial fights during times of war.

It was formally created on October 8, 1932, as an imperial air force of the British Empire, with the prefix Royal honoring India's airspace service during World War II.

The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Air Force. As of 1 July 2017, the IAF had 139,576 employees on its roster. The Chief of Air Staff, an air chief marshal, is a four-star general who is in charge of the majority of the Air Force's organizational order.

Let’s look at some of the mind-blowing facts of the Indian Air Force.

Sir Thomas Walker Elmhirst was the Indian Air Force's first commander-in-chief.

The post-independence Indian Air Force owes its independence to one man, Air Marshal Sir Thomas Walker Elmhirst, who served as the Indian Air Force of Free India's first Commander-in-Chief.

It was Air Marshal Elmhirst who insisted on the Indian Air Force being an autonomous service free of the Army, as opposed to the previous situation in which the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army still exerted authority over the Air Force.

The Indian Air Force is the world's seventh most powerful and fourth-largest air force.

Based on the reports by the Global Fire Power Index 2017, India's military strength ranks fourth behind the United States, Russia, and China.

In four wars with Pakistan and one with China, the Indian Air Force has proven its worth.

Since 1950, the IAF has fought four wars with Pakistan and one with the People's Republic of China.

The IAF has also conducted large operations such as Operation Vijay, Operation Meghdoot, Operation Cactus, and Operation Poomalai. The IAF's mandate extends beyond combat with enemy powers, with the IAF taking part in United Nations peacekeeping missions.

The motto of IAF is "Nabha Sparsham Deeptham," which is picked from the eleventh chapter of the Bhagavad Gita.

The eleventh chapter of the Bhagwad Gita is about Lord Krishna, who shows Arjuna his ultimate celestial form, and the Lord's great form is touching the sky with glory.

Arjuna's mind is filled with terror and lack of self-control as a result of the Lord's great form. Similarly, the Indian Air Force seeks to defeat enemies through the use of aerospace power in national defense.

During the 1971 Indo-Pak conflict, the IAF damaged over 40 APCs, 29 Pakistani tanks, and railway trains.

In the 1971 war, IAF inducted HF-24, MiG-21, and Sukhoi-Su-7BM in its fleet.

In the airspace of then-East Pakistan, IAF Gnats confronted and killed three of four PAF Sabres in the nation's first-ever air fight. The IAF flew a total of 109 sorties on December 4, with its Canberras proceeding to strike Pakistani airfields at night in five additional rails.

Farkhor Air Base, near Tajikistan, is India's first and only foreign military base

It will provide the Indian military with scope & range it requires to play a bigger role in Indian Subcontinent, & it is a concrete embodiment of our attempt to assert influence in Central Asia.

The ramifications of this foundation extend well beyond the subcontinental conflict between India and Pakistan. With the Farkhor base operating, Pakistan worries about being blockaded by India.

In 2003, Pakistan's President, Pervez Musharraf, expressed fears to the Tajik government about Indian planes being capable of reaching Pakistan in minutes by using the airbase.

The Indian Air Force set a world record by landing a C-130J at an altitude of 16614 feet at the Daulat Beg Oldi airstrip in Ladakh.

At 06:54 a.m., C-130J Super Hercules landed at DBO, the world's highest airstrip.

The commanding officer, Group Captain Tejbir Singh, and the team of the 'Veiled Vipers,' together with a senior officer, landed on the DBO airstrip, which is located at 16614 feet (5065 meters) in the Aksai Chin.

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