South Western Air Command
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South Western Air Command, Indian Air Force | |
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![]() Emblem of the South Western Air Command | |
Founded | 23 July 1980 |
Country | India |
Branch | Indian Air Force |
Type | Operational Air Command |
Role | Air Defence, Maritime strike role. |
Headquarters | Gandhinagar |
Motto(s) | Sanskrit: Jai Shree Varte Veeramh Victory embraces the brave |
Engagements | Atlantique incident, Bhuj earthquake relief, 2001, Gujarat flood relief, 2005 |
Commanders | |
Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief | Air Marshal Vikram Singh, VSM[1] |
The South Western Air Command is one of the five operational commands of the Indian Air Force. It was raised in Jodhpur in July 1980 from the No.1 Operations Group of the Western Air Command. Its operations sector includes most of Rajasthan, through Gujarat and Saurashtra, as far south as Kutch and Pune. The SWAC moved to its current headquarters in Gandhinagar in May 1998, and incorporates the Indian airbases of Bhuj, Jaisalmer, Naliya, Jamnagar, Jodhpur, Uttarlai/Barmer and Pune. It controls air operations in the south western air sector, which includes most of Rajasthan, and south through Gujarat to Saurashtra, and Kutch to Pune. It also operates the forward airbases at Ahmedabad, Nal and Suratgarh. The SWAC's role has historically been largely of air defence, although it has been reported to have incorporated a strike profile.
Organisation[]
Squadrons include:
Squadron | Base | Equipment | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
No. 20 Squadron IAF | Lohegaon Air Force Station | Su-30MKI | No. 2 Wing |
No. 30 Squadron IAF | Lohegaon Air Force Station | Su-30MKI | No. 2 Wing |
No. 15 Squadron IAF | Bhuj Air Force Station | Su-30 MKI | No. 27 Wing |
No. 31 Squadron IAF | Jodhpur Air Force Station | Su-30 MKI | No.32 Wing |
No. 107 Helicopter Unit, IAF | Jodhpur Air Force Station | Mi-8 | No. 32 Wing |
No. 116 Helicopter Unit, IAF | Jodhpur Air Force Station | HAL Chetak | No. 32 Wing |
No. 119 Helicopter Unit, IAF | Jodhpur Air Force Station | Mi-8 | No. 32 Wing |
No. 6 Squadron IAF | Jamnagar Air Force Station | JaguarIS/IM/IB | No. 33 Wing |
No. 28 Squadron IAF | Jamnagar Air Force Station | Mig 29 | No.33 Wing |
Jamnagar Air Force Station | HAL Chetak | No. 33 Wing IAF | |
No. 23 Squadron IAF | Suratgarh Air Force Station | Mig-21 | No. 35 Wing IAF |
No. 104 Helicopter Squadron, IAF | Suratgarh Air Force Station | Mi-35 | No. 35 Wing |
No. 11 Squadron IAF | Vadodara Air Force Station | Avro 748M | No. 36 Wing |
No. 44 Squadron IAF | Nagpur Air Force Station | Il-76MD | No. 44 Wing |
No. 4 Squadron IAF | Uttarlai Air Force Station | MiG-21 Bison | No. 5 FBSU |
Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief[]
Rank | Name | From | To |
---|---|---|---|
Air Marshal | 23 July 1980[2] | 30 June 1983 | |
1 July 1983[2] | 31 October 1984 | ||
1 November 1984[2] | 6 January 1986 | ||
8 January 1986[2] | 28 February 1987 | ||
Surendra Kumar Mehra | 1 March 1987[2] | 31 July 1988 | |
1 August 1988[2] | 31 March 1992 | ||
Brijesh Dhar Jayal | 1 April 1992[2] | 30 September 1993 | |
Satish Kumar Sareen | 6 October 1993[2] | 3 June 1994 | |
Kodendera Cariappa Cariappa | 6 June 1994[2] | 31 January 1996 | |
1 February 1996[2] | 30 November 1997 | ||
Srinivasapuram Krishnaswamy | 1 December 1997[2] | 31 October 1999 | |
Vinod Kumar Bhatia | 1 November 1997[2] | 31 July 2001 | |
1 August 2001[2] | 31 January 2003 | ||
Shashindra Pal Tyagi | 1 February 2003[2] | 14 November 2003 | |
17 November 2003[2] | 31 June 2004 | ||
12 July 2004[2] | 28 February 2006 | ||
1 March 2006[2] | 30 April 2007 | ||
1 May 2007[2] | 30 September 2009 | ||
1 October 2009[2] | 31 December 2010 | ||
1 January 2011[2] | 28 February 2013 | ||
1 March 2013[2] | 31 October 2014 | ||
Birender Singh Dhanoa | 1 November 2014[2] | 31 May 2015 | |
Ravinder Kumar Dhir | 1 June 2015[2] | 30 September 2018 | |
Harjit Singh Arora | 1 October 2018[2] | 30 September 2019 | |
Surendra Kumar Ghotia | 1 October 2019[2] | 30 April 2021 | |
Sandeep Singh | 1 May 2021[2] | 30 September 2021 | |
Vikram Singh | 1 October 2021[2] | Present |
References[]
External links[]
- Bharat-Rakshak.com, IAF COMMAND STRUCTURE
- Commands of the Indian Air Force
- Military units and formations established in 1980
- Military units and formations of the Indian Air Force
- 1980 establishments in Rajasthan