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

A Rafale
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A HAL Tejas
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A Su-30MKI

A Netra AEW&C on Embraer ERJ 145 platform

A C-130J Hercules on approach
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An Airbus C-295
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A Mil Mi-17 helicopter
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An AH-64 Apache
Aircraft | Origin | Type | Variant | In service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Combat Aircraft | |||||
Dassault Rafale | France | Multirole | EH/DH[1] | 11[2][3] | 25 on order. |
Sukhoi Su-30 | Russia | Multirole | Su-30MKI | 272[4][5] | [6] |
MiG-29 | Russia | Multirole | MiG-29UPG[7] | 65[8][9] | [6] |
HAL Tejas | India | Multirole | Mk.1 | 18[10] | 22 on order[11] |
Mk.1A | 0 | 83 on order[12][13] | |||
Mirage 2000 | France | Multirole | 2000 H/I | 45[8] | |
SEPECAT Jaguar | United Kingdom | Ground attack | IM/IS[14] | 118 | 56 to be upgraded to DARIN 3 std. To be armed with Swarm Drones under Jaguar Max upgrade. |
MiG-21 | Soviet Union | Interceptor | Bison | 108[15][16] | |
AWACS | |||||
Beriev A-50 | Soviet Union | AEW&C | A-50EI | 3 | Equipped with the Israeli IAI/Elta EL/W-2090 radar - 2 more planned.[8][17] |
EMB-145 | Brazil | AEW&C | 2[8] | Equipped with a DRDO-developed Netra AEW&C system[18] | |
Reconnaissance | |||||
Gulfstream G100 | Israel | Surveillance | 1125 Astra | 2[8] | |
Boeing 737 | United States | Surveillance | 2[8] | ||
Boeing 707 | United States | Surveillance | 1[8] | ||
Electronic Warfare | |||||
Gulfstream III | United States | EW | SRA[19] | 3[8] | |
Global 5000 | United States | ELINT | 2[8] | ||
Aerial refueling | |||||
Ilyushin Il-78 | Soviet Union | Aerial refueling | Il-78MKI | 6[8] | Equipped with Israeli fuel-transfer system.[20] |
Transport | |||||
Ilyushin Il-76 | Soviet Union | Strategic airlifter | Il-76MD | 17[8] | |
Boeing C-17 | United States | Strategic airlifter | 11[8] | ||
C-130J Super Hercules | United States | Tactical airlifter | C-130J-30[21] | 12[8] | |
Antonov An-32 | Ukraine | Transport | An-32/32RE | 104[8] | 53 are 32RE variant.[22] |
Hawker Siddeley HS 748 | United Kingdom | Transport | 57[8] | To be replaced by Airbus C-295 transport aircraft.[23][24] | |
Dornier 228 | Germany | Utility | 228-201[25] | 50 | 4 on order.[8] |
Boeing 777 | United States | VIP transport | 777-300ER | 2[26] | Used as Air India One for presidential flight. |
Boeing 737 | United States | VIP transport | 737-700 | 3[27] | |
Embraer Legacy 600 | Brazil | VIP transport | 4[28] | ||
Helicopters | |||||
HAL Light Combat Helicopter | India | Attack | 2 [29] | 65 planned.[8] | |
Boeing AH-64 Apache | United States | Attack | AH-64E | 22[8] | |
Mil Mi-24 | Russia | Attack | Mi-24/25/35 | 15[8] | |
HAL Rudra | India | Armed | 16[30] | ||
CH-47 Chinook | United States | Heavy transport | CH-47F | 15[8] | |
Mil Mi-26 | Russia | Heavy transport | 3[31] | Flown to Russia for overhaul | |
Mil Mi-17 | Russia | Utility transport | Mi-17V-5 | 223[8] | |
HAL Dhruv | India | Utility | 123 | 12 on order.[8] | |
HAL Chetak | France / India | Light utility | 77[8] | License-built version of the Alouette III. | |
HAL Cheetah | France / India | Light utility | 17[8] | License-built version of the SA315B Lama. | |
Trainer Aircraft | |||||
Pilatus PC-7 | Switzerland | Basic trainer | Mk II | 75[8] | |
BAE Hawk | United Kingdom | Advanced jet trainer | Hawk 132 | 104[8] | |
HAL Kiran | India | Intermediate jet trainer | 78[8] | ||
Mirage 2000 | France | Conversion trainer | 2000 TH/TI | 12[8] | |
MiG-21 | Soviet Union | Conversion trainer | U/UM | 39[15] | |
UAV | |||||
IAI Eitan | Israel | Attack/surveillance | Heron-TP | 10 | |
IAI Searcher | Israel | Surveillance | Mk. I / II | 108[32] | |
IAI Heron | Israel | Surveillance | Heron-1 | 100 Heron drones of Indian Armed Forces to be upgraded with missiles [33][34] | |
IAI Harop[35] | Israel | Loitering munition | |||
DRDO Lakshya | India | Target drone | 39[36] |
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HAL Rudra
Army Aviation Corps

An Army Dhruv at the ILA Berlin Air Show 2008
Aircraft | Origin | Type | Variant | In service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Helicopters | |||||
HAL Light Combat Helicopter | India | Attack | 97 planned.[37] | ||
Boeing AH-64 Apache | United States | Attack | AH-64E(I) | 6 on order.[8] | |
HAL Rudra | India | Armed | 58 | 2 on order.[38] | |
HAL Dhruv | India | Utility | 141 | 63 on order.[8] | |
HAL Cheetah | France / India | Light utility | 45 | [8] | |
HAL Chetak | France / India | Light utility | 4[8] | ||
UAV | |||||
IAI Searcher | Israel | Surveillance | Mk. I / II | 120+ | [32] |
IAI Heron | Israel | Surveillance | Heron 1 | 16 on order.[35] | |
ideaForge Switch | India | Surveillance | On Order [39] |
Naval Air Arm

A MiG-29K of the Indian Navy
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A Boeing P-8I of the Indian Navy
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A Kamov Ka-31 helicopter lands on the USS Bunker Hill
Indian Coast Guard

A Dornier 228-101
Aircraft | Origin | Type | Variant | In service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dornier 228 | Germany / India | reconnaissance | 101/201[25] | 36[46] | |
Helicopters | |||||
HAL Dhruv | India | utility | Mk.I | 4[47][48] | |
Mk.III | 2 [49] | 14 on order.[50] | |||
HAL Chetak | France / India | light utility | 17[48] | To be replaced by HAL Dhruv Mk.3[51] | |
See also
- List of historical aircraft of the Indian Air Force
- List of Indian naval aircraft
- Currently active military equipment by country
- Military of India
- Indian Air Force
- Indian Naval Air Arm
- Future of the Indian Air Force
- Border Security Force
Notes
References
- "Les Rafale indiens porteront la dénomination Rafale EH et Rafale DH". defens-aero.com (in French). 11 January 2017.
- "3 more Rafale fighter jets from France arrive in India - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
- "Second batch of Rafale aircraft reaches India, says IAF - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
- "India's Aviation Behemoth HAL Expects More Orders as It Completes Production of Su-30MKI". Global Security. 3 April 2020.
- "How Sukhoi-30 fighter jets will help check Chinese footprint in Indian Ocean". Hindustan Times. 20 January 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
- Pubby, Manu. "IAF to urgently procure 21 MiG 29s, 12 Su 30s". The Economic Times. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
- Jennings, Gareth (12 December 2012). "Indian Air Force receives back first upgraded MiG-29 fighters". IHS Jane's Defence Weekly. 50 (2). ISSN 2048-3430.
- "World Air Forces 2021". Flightglobal Insight. 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
- "IAF MiG-29 fighter aircraft crashes near Jalandhar". The Hindu. 8 May 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
- "HAL to ramp up Tejas fighter tests after pandemic pause". The Week.
- http://idrw.org/5-foc-tejas-mk1-by-march-end-hal-chief/
- "Defence Ministry, Indian Air Force bring down 83 LCA deal cost by over Rs 10,000 crore". 19 December 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
So far, around 18 LCAs have been delivered to the IAF
- https://theprint.in/defence/contract-signed-for-83-lca-tejas-fighters-all-eyes-now-on-hal-delivery-schedule/597841/
- Jennings, Gareth (6 August 2014). "Indian Air Force Jaguar lost on training sortie". IHS Jane's Defence Weekly. 51 (37). ISSN 2048-3430.
- "Chapter Six: Asia". The Military Balance. 119 (1): 266–272. 15 February 2019. doi:10.1080/04597222.2018.1561032. ISSN 1479-9022. S2CID 219624604.
- "Statement by Official Spokesperson on 27 February 2019". Press Information Bureau, Government of India. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
- "India to procure two more Phalcon airborne warning and control systems from Israel". 27 August 2020.
- Bedi, Rahul (30 November 2017). "IAF refuels its EMB-145 AEW&C aircraft in mid-air". Jane's Defence Weekly. Archived from the original on 30 November 2017.
- Menon, Jay (23 April 2013). "RFP Coming Soon For Indian Airborne Jamming Aircraft". aviationweek.com. AWIN First.
- Mukherjee, Amit (29 September 2004). "IAF to get 5th IL-78 refueller soon - Times of India". The Times of India.
- "Purchase of Transport Aircraft". Press Information Bureau. 12 December 2011.
- "41 AN-32 aircraft require upgrade, process under way: Defence Ministry". 8 July 2019.
There are 53 upgraded AN-32 aircraft in the fleet
- Peri, Dinakar (12 November 2019). "C-295 transport plane clears cost negotiations" – via www.thehindu.com.
- "Chinmay Khadke asked: Is there any ToT involved in C295 transport aircraft to be built by Tata-Airbus in India? What can be its implications for the aviation manufacturing ecosystem? Any potential civilian transport use of aircraft? | Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses". idsa.in.
- 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.
- "PM's new special aircraft, equipped with missile defence systems, lands in Delhi". Hindustan Times. 1 October 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
- "India's Air Force One takes off on first official flight". dna. PTI. 1 April 2009.
- "India gets first Embraer jet with Indian airborne radar tech". The Hindu Business Line. PTI. 17 August 2012.
- "Two HAL light combat choppers deployed in Ladakh". Hindustan Times. 12 August 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
The two LCHs deployed in Ladakh are prototypes
- Aroor, Shiv. "Make Time For This Sweet Shoot Of India's RUDRA Armed Helo".
- Dutta, Amrita Nayak (4 October 2019). "IAF's heavy-lift Mi-26 choppers set to fly back to Russia for overhaul". ThePrint. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
- Bedi, Rahul (16 September 2015). "India to buy Heron TP UAVs". IHS Jane's Defence Weekly. 52 (44). ISSN 2048-3430.
- Mallapur, Chaitanya (4 May 2015). "India tops list of drone-importing nations". IndiaSpend. Business Standard.
- "Indian defence forces to arm 100 Heron drones with missiles for offensive operations". 9 August 2020.
- Bedi, Rahul (20 February 2013). "India signs up for more Heron UAVs". IHS Jane's Defence Weekly. 50 (12). ISSN 2048-3430.
- "Hindustan Aeronautics Limited delivers 'Lakshya-1' aircraft to Bharat Dynamics Limited". Indian Express. 27 July 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
- https://www.business-standard.com/article/defence/hindustan-aeronautics-light-combat-chopper-cutting-its-teeth-in-ladakh-120081300071_1.html
- "Army boosting combat fighting capabilities with major inductions of indigenous helicopters". 8 October 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
50 armed Rudra helicopters have already been inducted and 10 more will join the force by 2020.
- Aroor, Shiv (13 January 2021). "Indian Army Hands Landmark $20-Mil Deal To Indian Drone-maker IdeaForge". Livefist.
- "Dorniers | INAS 550 – The Flying Fish". www.indiannavy.nic.in.
- "World Air Forces 2020". Flightglobal Insight. 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- Hiranandani, G. M. (2005). Transition to Eminence: The Indian Navy 1976-1990. Lancer Publishers. p. 99. ISBN 9788170622666.
- @SpokespersonNavy (5 February 2021). "Adm Karambir Singh CNS accepts the first 3 of 16 ALH Mk-III CoastalSecurity Helicopters" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- @ANI (16 November 2019). "A MiG-29K fighter aircraft crashed in Goa soon after it took off for a training mission. Both the pilots have managed to eject safely. The aircraft involved in the crash was a trainer version of the fighter jet" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- "Modi government to fast-track acquisition of lethal Predator drones for Indian Navy and Indian Army - The Financial Express". www.financialexpress.com. Archived from the original on 23 January 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
- "Indian Coast Guard to induct 16 Advanced Light Helicopters, 2 of them for North-East". 2 April 2019.
- Purohit, Jugal (8 July 2016). "Indian Coast Guard to acquire 30 advanced copters soon". India Today.
- (Iiss), The International Institute of Strategic Studies (14 February 2017). The Military Balance 2017. Routledge, Chapman & Hall, Incorporated. ISBN 9781857439007.
- @Livefist (5 February 2021). "Easily one of the highlights at AeroIndia2021: the souped up ALH Mk3s for the IndiaCoastGuard. Two airframes handed over at the show" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- "Indian navy and coast guard order 32 Dhruv helicopters". Flightglobal.com. 31 March 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
- "HAL hands over ALHs to Indian Navy and Coast Guard; LUH Army Variant receives IOC". 5 February 2021.
External links
- The Official Home Page of Indian Air Force. Archived 23 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine
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