Air Force ranks and insignia of India: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 14:03, 3 December 2022

Template:Equivalent ranks of Indian military The Indian Air Force's rank structure is based on that of the Royal Air Force. The highest rank attainable in the Indian Air Force is Marshal of the Indian Air Force, conferred by the President of India after exceptional service during wartime. MIAF Arjan Singh was the only officer to have achieved this rank. The head of the Indian Air Force is the Chief of the Air Staff, who holds the rank of Air Chief Marshal. The current Chief of the Air Staff is Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari, took office on 30 September 2021.

Officer ranks[edit | edit source]

The following table shows the officer rank insignia for the Indian Air Force.

Template:Ranks and Insignia of Non NATO Armies/OF/Blank

Service uniform

Template:Ranks and Insignia of Non NATO Air Forces/OF/India

Ceremonial/
War time rank

Held by the
Chief of Defence Staff
and/or the
Chief of the Air Staff

The IAF rank of pilot officer is a rank in abeyance in the Air Force and is no longer in force, all officers begin as flying officers upon commissioning.

Junior commissioned officer and non-commissioned ranks[edit | edit source]

Rank group	Junior commissioned officers										Non commissioned officer																								Enlisted Template:Ranks and Insignia of Non NATO Air Forces/OR/India2

Former ranks and rank insignia[edit | edit source]

The rank of Pilot Officer is no longer in use; all new officers are commissioned as Flying Officers. The old warrant officer ranks and the rank of flight sergeant were replaced in 1977 by the new warrant officer ranks.^[1]

**Ranks of the Indian Air Force no longer in use**
	Officers		Non-commissioned officers
Shoulder Insignia		Arm
Rank	Pilot officer		Warrant officer	Junior warrant officer	Flight sergeant

References[edit | edit source]

↑ "IAF officers badges". 15 May 1977. Archived from the original on 22 May 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2021.

Template:Military ranks by country

[1] "IAF officers badges". 15 May 1977. Archived from the original on 22 May 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2021.

[1]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|Overview of the ranks and insignia of the Indian Air Force}}
+{{refimprove|date=September 2021}}
 {{Military of India sidebar}}
-The [[Indian Air Force]]'s rank structure is based on that of the [[Royal Air Force]]. The highest rank attainable in the Indian Air Force is [[Marshal of the Indian Air Force]], conferred by the [[President of India]] after exceptional service during wartime. MIAF [[Arjan Singh]] was the only officer to have achieved this rank. The head of the Indian Air Force is the [[Chief of the Air Staff (India)|Chief of the Air Staff]], who holds the rank of [[Air Chief Marshal (India)|Air Chief Marshal]]. The current Chief of the Air Staff is Air Chief Marshal [[Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria]], took office on 30 September 2019.
+{{Equivalent ranks of Indian military}}
+The [[Indian Air Force]]'s rank structure is based on that of the [[Royal Air Force]]. The highest rank attainable in the Indian Air Force is [[Marshal of the Indian Air Force]], conferred by the [[President of India]] after exceptional service during wartime. MIAF [[Arjan Singh]] was the only officer to have achieved this rank. The head of the Indian Air Force is the [[Chief of the Air Staff (India)|Chief of the Air Staff]], who holds the rank of [[Air Chief Marshal (India)|Air Chief Marshal]]. The current Chief of the Air Staff is Air Chief Marshal [[Vivek Ram Chaudhari]], took office on 30 September 2021.
 ==Officer ranks==
+The following table shows the officer rank insignia for the Indian Air Force.
-[[File:Equivalent-ranks-of-the-Indian-Armed-Forces.jpg|thumb|upright=0.5|Equivalent ranks of [[Indian Armed Forces]] (click to enlarge)]]
-The following table shows the officer rank insignia for the Indian Air Force.  Even though India is not a recognized NATO country, the NATO ranking codes are given for comparison with other nations' military ranks (see [[Air force officer rank insignia]] for more information).
-{{Equivalent ranks of Indian military}}
 {| style="border:1px solid #8888aa; background-color:#f7f8ff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px;"srkk
 {{Ranks and Insignia of Non NATO Armies/OF/Blank}}
+|- style="text-align:center;"
+| Service uniform
+| colspan=2| [[File:India-AirForce-OF-10-collected.svg|100px]]
+| colspan=2| [[File:India-AirForce-OF-9-collected.svg|100px]]
+| colspan=2| [[File:India-AirForce-OF-8-collected.svg|100px]]
+| colspan=2| [[File:India-AirForce-OF-7-collected.svg|100px]]
+| colspan=2| [[File:India-AirForce-OF-6-collected.svg|100px]]
+| colspan=2| [[File:British RAF OF-5.svg|50px]]
+| colspan=2| [[File:British RAF OF-4.svg|50px]]
+| colspan=2| [[File:British RAF OF-3.svg|50px]]
+| colspan=2| [[File:British RAF OF-2.svg|50px]]
+| colspan=6| [[File:British RAF OF-1b.svg|50px]]
+| colspan=12|
 {{Ranks and Insignia of Non NATO Air Forces/OF/India}}
 |- style="text-align:center;"
 |
 | colspan=2| Ceremonial/<br />War time rank
-| colspan=2| Held by the <br />[[Chief of Defence Staff (India)|Chief of Defence Staff]] or the <br />[[Chief of the Air Staff (India)|Chief of the Air Staff]]
+| colspan=2| Held by the <br />[[Chief of Defence Staff (India)|Chief of Defence Staff]]<br>and/or the<br>[[Chief of the Air Staff (India)|Chief of the Air Staff]]
 |}
@@ Line 23: / Line 33: @@
 ==Junior commissioned officer and non-commissioned ranks ==
 {| style="border:1px solid #8888aa; background-color:#f7f8ff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px;"
-{{Ranks and Insignia of Non NATO Air Forces/OR/Blank}}
+|- style="background:#ccc;"
+! Rank group|| colspan=10| Junior commissioned officers || colspan=24| Non commissioned officer || colspan=2| Enlisted
 {{Ranks and Insignia of Non NATO Air Forces/OR/India2}}
+|}
+== Former ranks and rank insignia ==
+The rank of [[Pilot Officer]] is no longer in use; all new officers are commissioned as Flying Officers. The old warrant officer ranks and the rank of flight sergeant were replaced in 1977 by the new warrant officer ranks.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://timescontent.com/tss/showcase/preview-buy/119910/Feature/IAF-officers-badges-Old-and-new.html |title=IAF officers badges |date=15 May 1977 |access-date=23 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522091933/https://timescontent.com/tss/showcase/preview-buy/119910/Feature/IAF-officers-badges-Old-and-new.html |archive-date=22 May 2022}}</ref>
+{| style="border:1px solid #8888aa; background-color:#f7f8ff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px;"
+|+ '''Ranks of the Indian Air Force no longer in use'''
+|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC"
+!
+! Officers
+!
+! colspan=3| Non-commissioned officers
+|- align=center
+| '''Shoulder<br />Insignia'''
+| [[File:Indian IAF OF-1a.svg|50px]]
+| '''Arm'''
+| [[File:India-Air-OR-9 old.svg|50px]]
+| [[File:India-Air-OR-8 old.svg|50px]]
+| [[File:India-Air-OR-7 old.svg|50px]]
+|- align=center
+|'''Rank'''
+| [[Pilot officer|Pilot<br />officer]]
+|
+| [[Warrant officer]]
+| [[Warrant officer|Junior<br />warrant officer]]
+| [[Flight sergeant|Flight<br />sergeant]]
 |}
 ==See also==
-*[[Comparative military ranks]]
+* [[Comparative military ranks]]
-*[[Army ranks and insignia of India]]
+* [[Army ranks and insignia of India]]
-*[[Naval ranks and insignia of India]]
+* [[Naval ranks and insignia of India]]
-*[[Police ranks and insignia of India]]
+* [[Indian Coast Guard#Rank insignia|Coast Guard ranks and insignia of India]]
+* [[Border Roads Organisation#Ranks|Border Roads Organisation ranks and insignia of India]]
+* [[Paramilitary forces of India#Ranks and insignia|Paramilitary forces ranks and insignia of India]]
+* [[Police ranks and insignia of India]]
 ==References==
-{{reflist|25em}}
+{{reflist}}
 {{Military ranks by country}}