List of active Indian military aircraft

This article provides a list of active Indian military aircraft currently in service with the Indian Armed Forces, as well as aircraft's on order. For a list of historical military aircraft used by the Indian military, see list of historical aircraft of the Indian Air Force.

Air Force

Further information: Indian Air Force
HAL Tejas in flight.
IAF Rafale take off from Dassault Aviation Facility, Merignac, France.
A Su-30MKI
Netra AEW&C on Embraer ERJ 145 platform
HAL Prachand
Aircraft Origin Type Variant In service Notes
Combat Aircraft
Sukhoi Su-30 MKI Russia multirole MKI 260[1] 12 on order.[2]
SEPECAT Jaguar United Kingdom
France 		ground attack IS/IM:130
IB:30 		160[3]
 IB is trainer variant
Mikoyan MiG-29 Russia multirole UPG:65
UB:10 		75[3] UB is trainer variant
Dassault Mirage 2000 France multirole H/I:44
TH/TI:11 		55[3] TH/TI is trainer variant
HAL Tejas India multirole Mk.1:32[4]
LiFT:1[5] 		33[4][5] 170 Mk.1A and 17 LiFT on order. [5][6][7]
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 Soviet Union interceptor UPG 40 [8]
Dassault Rafale France multirole EH/DH 36[3]
AWACS
Embraer R-99 Brazil AEW&C 2[3] equipped with a DRDO-developed AEW&C system
Beriev A-50 Soviet Union AEW&C A-50EI 3 equipped with the EL/W-2090 radar.
Reconnaissance
Gulfstream III United States ELINT SRA[9] 3[3] also used for electronic-warfare
Global 5000 United States ELINT 2[3]
Gulfstream G100 Israel surveillance 1125 Astra 2[3]
Boeing 707 United States surveillance 1[3]
Tanker
Ilyushin Il-78 Soviet Union aerial refueling Il-78MKI 6[3]
Transport
Boeing 737 United States airliner 737-700 3[10]
Boeing 777 United States airliner 777-300ER 2[11] used for Air India One for presidential flight
Embraer Legacy 600 Brazil business jet 4[12]
Ilyushin Il-76 Soviet Union strategic airlifter Il-76MD 17[3]
Boeing C-17 United States strategic airlifter 11[3]
Antonov An-32 Ukraine tactical airlifter 103[3] 53 are the 32RE variant[13]
Hawker Siddeley HS 748 United Kingdom tactical airlifter HAL 748 57[3]
Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules United States tactical airlifter C-130J-30[14] 12[3]
EADS CASA C-295 Spain tactical airlifter C-295MW 1 55 on order - HS 748 replacement[3][15]
Dornier Do 228 Germany Utility aircraft NG 58[3] license built by HAL[16]
Helicopters
Boeing AH-64 Apache United States attack AH-64E 22[3]
Mil Mi-24 Russia attack Mi-35 15[3]
HAL Prachand India attack 10[17] 66 on order[18]
Mil Mi-17 Russia utility Mi-17V-5 222[3]
HAL Dhruv India utility 111[3] 16 are the Rudra derivative[19]
Aérospatiale Alouette III France utility Chetak 77[3] license-built by HAL
Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama India utility Cheetah 18[3] license-built by HAL
Boeing CH-47 Chinook United States utility CH-47F 15[3]
HAL Light Utility Helicopter India utility 6 on order[20]
Trainer Aircraft
BAE Hawk United Kingdom Trainer Hawk 132 102[3]
HAL Kiran India Trainer MK II 77[3]
HAL HTT-40 India Trainer 70 on order[3]
Pilatus PC-7 Switzerland Trainer Mk II 75[3]
Pipistrel Virus Slovenia Trainer 72[21]
UAV
IAI Heron Israel surveillance Heron 1 49[22][23]
IAI Searcher Israel surveillance Mk. I / II <100[23]


Naval Air Arm

Further information: Indian Naval Air Arm and List of Indian naval aircraft
Mig-29K
A Boeing P-8I Neptune of Indian Navy
Commandos conducting heliborne operations from HAL Dhruv MK-III
Aircraft Origin Type Variant In service Notes
Combat Aircraft
Mikoyan MiG-29K Russia multirole K : 36
KUB  : 9 		45[3] KUB is trainer variant
Maritime patrol
Boeing P-8 United States ASW / patrol P-8I 12[3]
Dornier Do 228 Germany surveillance 228-201[16] 24 10 on order[3]
Britten-Norman BN-2 United Kingdom utility / patrol BN-2B/2T[24] 4[3]
Helicopters
HAL Dhruv India utility 24[3]
Kamov Ka-27 Russia ASW Ka-28 14[3]
Kamov Ka-31 Russia AEW 14[3] employs a Planar array radar
Westland Sea King United Kingdom SAR /Utility Mk.42B/C[25] 25[3] six are UH-3H variants
HAL Chetak France Utility 42[3]
SH-60 Seahawk United States ASW / SAR MH-60R 6[26] 24 on order[27]
Trainer Aircraft
BAE Hawk United Kingdom Jet trainer Hawk 132 17[3]
HAL Kiran India Jet trainer 20[3]
UAV
IAI Heron[22] Israel surveillance Heron 1
IAI Searcher[23] Israel surveillance Mk.II
MQ-9 Reaper United States surveillance SeaGuardian 2[28]
Hermes 900 Israel surveillance 2 on order[29]


Army Aviation Corps

Further information: Army Aviation Corps (India)
An Army Dhruv at the ILA Berlin Air Show 2008
Aircraft Origin Type Variant In service Notes
Helicopters
HAL Dhruv India utility 145[30] 43 on order[3]
HAL Rudra India attack 75[31][32]
Alouette III France liaison / utility Chetak 4[3] license-built by HAL
SA 315B Lama France liaison / utility Cheetah 40 license-built by HAL - 4 on order[3]
HAL Prachand India attack 5[17] 90 on order[18]
Boeing AH-64 United States attack AH-64E(I) 6 on order[33]
UAV
IAI Heron TP[34] Israel Surveillance Heron TP 4[35] 16 Heron on order[36]
IAI Searcher[36] Israel Surveillance Mk. I / II
Ideaforge Switch [37][38] India Surveillance 1.0 Unknown undisclosed quantities on order[37]
NewSpace NIMBUS[39] India Surveillance Mk-III 75[39]
NewSpace BELUGA[39] India Surveillance 25[39]
Hermes 900 Israel Surveillance 2 on order[29]

Indian Coast Guard

A Dornier Do-228-101
Further information: Indian Coast Guard
Aircraft Origin Type Variant In service Notes
Maritime patrol
Dornier Do 228 Germany reconnaissance 101/201[16] 23[40]
Helicopters
HAL Dhruv India utility Mk. I / Mk. III 4 / 16[41][42][43]
HAL Chetak India utility 17[40]

See also

References

  1. ^ "India moves closer to adding $4B upgrades to Su-30 jets - AeroTime". 26 January 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Centre clears proposal to buy 12 Su-30 MKI fighter jets". Indian Express. 16 September 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap Hoyle, Craig (2023). "World Air Forces 2024". FlightGlobal. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Delivery of single-seat Tejas LCA Mark 1 fighters to IAF completed". business-standard.com.
  5. ^ a b c "IAF chief receives 1st LCA trainer from HAL, 7 more to come by Mar '24". Hindustan Times. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  6. ^ "Contract signed for 83 LCA Tejas fighters, all eyes now on HAL delivery schedule". Print. 3 February 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  7. ^ "Rs 2.23 lakh crore-deal: India approves purchase of 97 Tejas aircraft, 156 Prachanda helicopters, other defence equipment". Money Control. 30 November 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  8. ^ Cite warning: <ref> tag with name mig21 cannot be previewed because it is defined outside the current section or not defined in this article at all.
  9. ^ Menon, Jay (23 April 2013). "RFP Coming Soon For Indian Airborne Jamming Aircraft". aviationweek.com. AWIN First.
  10. ^ "India's Air Force One takes off on first official flight". dna. PTI. 1 April 2009.
  11. ^ "PM's new special aircraft, equipped with missile defence systems, lands in Delhi". Hindustan Times. 1 October 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  12. ^ "India gets first Embraer jet with Indian airborne radar tech". The Hindu Business Line. PTI. 17 August 2012.
  13. ^ Chandra, Atul (27 November 2015). "India receives last batch of Ukraine-upgraded An-32s". Flightglobal.com.
  14. ^ "Purchase of Transport Aircraft". Press Information Bureau. 12 December 2011.
  15. ^ "Govt Seals Mega Deal with Airbus for Purchase of 56 C-295 Military Transport Aircraft". News18. 24 September 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  16. ^ a b c Jackson, Paul; Munson, Kenneth; Peacock, Lindsay, eds. (2004). "HAL (Dornier) 228". Jane's All the World's Aircraft (95th year of issue 2004-2005. ed.). Coulsdon: Janes Information Group. p. 206. ISBN 0710626142.
  17. ^ a b "CCS Approves Procurement of 15 Light Combat Helicopters (LCH) Limited Series Production (LSP) from HAL for IAF (10) & IA(05)". www.pib.gov.in. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  18. ^ a b "IAF's Strengthened Arsenal: Acquisition of 97 Tejas Mk1A Jets Marks a Milestone". Financialexpress. 30 November 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  19. ^ "About 50 Rudra Attack Helicopters To Be Acquired By The Indian Air Force". 16 April 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  20. ^ Pubby, Manu. "Indigenous light choppers get go-ahead, delivery in 2022". The Economic Times.
  21. ^ "Pipistrel completes deliveries of Garud trainers to India | Jane's 360". archive.ph. 29 April 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  22. ^ a b Mallapur, Chaitanya (4 May 2015). "India tops list of drone-importing nations". IndiaSpend. Business Standard.
  23. ^ a b c Bedi, Rahul (16 September 2015). "India to buy Heron TP UAVs". IHS Jane's Defence Weekly. 52 (44). ISSN 2048-3430.
  24. ^ "Dorniers | INAS 550 – The Flying Fish". www.indiannavy.nic.in.
  25. ^ Hiranandani, G. M. (2005). Transition to Eminence: The Indian Navy 1976-1990. Lancer Publishers. p. 99. ISBN 9788170622666.
  26. ^ Sentinels, India. "Lockheed Martin delivers 6th MH-60R 'Romeo' helicopter to Indian Navy". www.indiasentinels.com. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  27. ^ "Romeos are coming to India! Long wait for MH-60R multi-mission helicopter for Indian Navy is over". Financialexpress. 28 July 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  28. ^ Peri, Dinakar (25 November 2020). "Navy inducts two Sea Guardian drones on lease from U.S." The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  29. ^ a b "India orders Hermes 900 for army, navy". Janes.com. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  30. ^ "Army Clears Grounded 'Dhruv' Chopper Fleet For Flight, But Conditions Apply". NDTV.com. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  31. ^ "Watch: IAF's Apache-like Made in India Light Combat Helicopter". The Economic Times. 27 September 2022. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  32. ^ "अरुणाचल में भारतीय सेना का हेलिकॉप्टर रुद्र हुआ क्रैश, 15 दिनों में क्रैश की दूसरी घटना!". The Lallantop (in Hindi). 21 October 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  33. ^ "Boeing begins production of army's Apache helicopters; deliveries next year". Hindustan Times. 16 August 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  34. ^ "India Buys 4 Israeli Herons, to Upgrade Them With Missiles as Army, IAF, Navy Ramp Up Drone Inventory". News18.
  35. ^ "Indian Army receives new Israeli Heron drones for deployment in Ladakh sector". www.aninews.in.
  36. ^ a b Bedi, Rahul (20 February 2013). "India signs up for more Heron UAVs". IHS Jane's Defence Weekly. 50 (12). ISSN 2048-3430.
  37. ^ a b "Indian Army signs $20 mn contract with ideaForge to procure SWITCH drones". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 14 January 2021. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  38. ^ "Switch Prime" (PDF). ideaForge. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  39. ^ a b c d "Indian army receives its first swarm drones from newspace". The IGMP (9 march 2023).
  40. ^ a b "The Military Balance 2023". International Institute for Strategic Studies. p. 252. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  41. ^ "Army Clears Grounded 'Dhruv' Chopper Fleet For Flight, But Conditions Apply". NDTV.com. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  42. ^ "Indian Coast Guard Advanced Light Helicopter Mk-III squadron, 840 Sqn (CG), commissioned in Chennai". www.pib.gov.in. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  43. ^ "Indian Coast Guard looks for new helicopters, rotary Unmanned Aerial Vehicles". The Hindu. 26 November 2022. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 13 August 2023.

External links