Indian Air Force
air warfare branch of India's military
The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian Military. The Royal Indian Air Force was founded on 1 April 1932 as part of the armed forces of the British Empire. In 1950, after independence, India dropped the word 'Royal' from the name.
Since 1950, the IAF has been involved in 5 wars but also participates regularly in United Nations peace keeping missions.
The Indian Air Force has around 170,000 personnel and around 1700 aircraft making it the 4th largest air force in the world in terms of aircraft. The motto of the Indian Air Force is nabhah sprsham diptam ('touch the sky with glory').The motto has been taken from the Sacred Bhagavad Gita,Chapter 11,Verse 24.
