Bharat Rakshak:Indian Air Force

Album: 119 Helicopter Unit - The Stallions

119 Helicopter Unit, Air Force is one of the premier flying units of the Indian Air Force. It was raised on 03 Mar 1972 as ‘Angels Of Mercy’ at Air Force Station Guwahati under the command of Wg Cdr Bobby Johnson. The unit was equipped with five Mi-8 heli

Album: Agra in the 90s: A call to nostalgia

by Vivek Ahuja with photographs from Wg Cdr P M Ahujas collection

Album: Air Indias Boeing 777 arrives!

With a special escort of Sukhoi-30s. Photos Courtesy of IAF PRO.

Album: Baaz : Induction of the MiG-29 (1987)

Blast from the Past: The Induction ceremony of the MiG-29s in 1987 at Lohegaon AFS, Pune. Courtesy: Frontline

Album: Camels land at Daulet Beg Oldi

History was created on 31st May 2008 when an An-32 of No.48 Squadron landed at the Daulet Beg Oldi Landing Ground

Album: Canberras retire after 50 Years of Service

by Shiv Aroor - The Indian Air Force phased out its Canberra aircraft after fifty years of its glorious service. The phasing out ceremony was held at Air Force Station Agra and was presided over by the Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Mshl FH Major

Album: Farewell to the MiG-21FL (Type-77)

Courtesy Gp Capt T K Singha CPRO, MoD Kolkatta

The epic journey of Mig-21 FL (Type-77), a variant in the series of Mig-21 aircraft, also the first supersonic fighter jet in the Indian Air Force (IAF), ended after five decades t

Album: Farewell to the MiG-25 Foxbats

by Sanjay Simha . The Phasing out ceremony of the MiG-25R Foxbat "Garuda" was held on May 1st, 2006 at Air Force Station Bareilly. No.35 Squadron, which operates the MiG-25 undertook a simple ceremony which was presided by the Ch

Album: Fire Power Display 2007 at Pokhran

Showcasing flying skills and pinpoint marksmanship, Indian Air Force (IAF) air warriors pounded and blasted away an array of assorted targets with impunity that included mock enemy radar sites, troops, ammunition dumps, convoys, petrol, oil and lubricant

Album: First HAL Produced Hawk Trainer

Sanjay Simha Exclusive photographs from the hand over ceremony of the first HAL produced Hawk to the Indian Air Force on August 13th, 2008. HAL Chief Test Pilot, Sqn Ldr Baldev Singh displayed the aircraft

Album: Jamnagar - The best flying station for 2006

by Simon Watson Air Force Station Jamnagar was established in the year 1951 as an Armament Training Wing to facilitate the Armament Training of fighter pilots of Indian Air Force. In the year 1979 it was upgraded to 33 Wing Air Force and has been

Album: Last of the Deepaks.

The Indian Air Force grounded all of its HPT-32 Deepak Trainers being used for ab-initio training after a fatal accident in 2009. Though initially grounded till investigations were to be completed, the aircraft never took off - and they never had a formal

Album: Last of the MiG-23BNs - No.221 Squadron

Simon Watson The MiG-23BN was [url=http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Images/Special/PRO/LastFlight_MIG_23.jpg.html]recently retired[/url] on 6th March 2009 after 28 years of service with the IAF.

Album: LCA Calendar 2011

Images from the LCA 2011 Calendar released by the Aeronautical Development Authority. The album also contains images from the Initial Operational Clearance Brochure.

Album: Lightnings Resurrected

In the most understated ceremony of its kind anywhere in the world,the Indian Air Force inducted its newest acquisition,the Su-30 MKI at Lohegaon Air Force Station,Pune on September 27,2002.

Album: No.20 Squadron - Golden Jubilee Celebrations

June 1, 1956 was an eventful day in the re-equipment and renovation programme of the Indian Air Force following the 1948 showdown in Kashmir. This was the day when “Pioneer-1” and five other Vampire 52s landed at Halwara. No. 20 FB Squadron Air Force was

Album: Operating in an NBC Environment

The Indian Air Force has a full fledged NBC Cell that has bought out a Calender with photographs of aircraft operating under NBC Warfare conditions. These photographs were subsequently scanned by Arun Sharma and sent to us for use on this website.

Album: Red Arrows at Hindon 2003

An occasion to remember in 2003 was the combined display of aerobatics by the RAFs Aerobatic Display team The Red Arrows and the IAFs Suryakirans Display team.

Album: Round the world microlight flight

Wg Cdr Rahul Monga and Wg Cdr Anil Kumar are undertaking this expedition of 40,806 kilometres in an attempt to beat the existing world record and create a new one in circumnavigating the world in a single engine aircraft.

Album: Simon Watson's Iron Fist 2013

Album: The Caribous of Cape May - Revisited

The Caribous of Cape May - Revisited by Drone on 14th March 2021

Album: The Caribous of Cape May, NJ

In the south most corner of the New Jersey Peninsula, in Cape May airport are the relics of eight Indian Air Force Caribou aircraft.

Album: The Crocodiles of No.125 Squadron

When India decided to go in for its first Helicopter Gunship, it was decided to go in for the Mil Mi-25, which was an export version of the famous Mi-24 Hind that saw much combat and action in Afghanistan, flying for the Russian forces. No.125 Helicopter

Album: The Floggers of Hasimara

by Rahul Devnath The State of West Bengal is host to some of the most important air bases of Indian Air Force. Hasimara, being one such. Surrounded by Bhutan and China in the north and Bangladesh in south, this base plays a major role in maintainin

Album: The Forgotten Hunters of Kalaikunda

A photo feature by Simon Watson on the Hawker Hunters last days in the Indian Air Force

Album: The IAF in South India

by S Vijay Kumar The bulk of the Indian Air Forces combat aircraft force is concentrated in Northern India to deal with potential adversaries on the Northern frontiers. However the need to have a credible deterance and force that can operate freel

Album: The Indian Air Force in Congo

Photographs of the IAF Contingent in Congo - Courtesy of Vishnu Som . The IAC at Goma, Democratic republice of Congo is a peacekeeping mission under the United Nations banner. IAC at Goma consists of four attack helicopters Mi-25, and five medium

Album: The MiG Operational Flying Training Unit

by Phil Camp and Simon Watson MOFTU was formed on 15th December 1986 at Tezpur to impart stage 3 training on the Mig 21FL and Mig 21U. The primary role of the unit is to instruct operational flying training to pilots

Album: The Silent Sentinel at Padum

by Anupam Gupta Inspired Clicks

Album: The Suryakirans - Formation Aerobatic Team

The Suryakirans are the formation aerobatic team of the Indian Air Force which was formed in the year 1996. Operating out of Bidar, they continue the traditions of the Thunderbolts - in carrying out a series of breathtaking aerobatic routines utilising n

Album: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

In 1996, an agreement between Israel and India saw the procurement of nearly 32 UAVs of the Searcher-II Variant manufactured by IAI-Malat. These were inducted into the Indian Army as well as the Indian Air Force. Subsequently some IAI Herons were procured

Album: Uttarkhand Airlift

Album: Visiting the Swifts at Hasimara

Photographs by Sanjay Simha Sanjay visited Hasimara last year just after the Cope India exercises. He was put up by No.22 Squadron Swifts but sadly for him, there was no flying at the base due to weather problems.