1. After Independence of India in 1947, the Indian Air Force was named Royal Indian Air Force. However, when India turned Republic in 1950, the prefix Royal was removed.
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2. With around 1, 70,000 personnel and 1,500 aircraft, IAF is the fourth largest air force in the world after the US, Russia, and China.
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3. IAF’s Hindon Air Force Station, situated near Ghaziabad is the largest in Asia and the 8th largest in the world.
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4. The highest Air Force Station is Siachen Glacier AFS situated at a height of 22,000 ft or (or 6,706 m).
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5. Adopted in 1951, the IAF flag is blue in color and contains the National Flag in the first quadrant and a roundel of the Tricolour.
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6. Flying officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon was the first and only IAF officer to be awarded the Param Veer Chakra posthumously for his bravery in the 1971 India-Pakistan war.
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7. The IAF created a world record by airlifting around 20,000 civilians in ‘Raahat’ mission during floods in Uttarakhand.
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8. IAF has a base in Tajikistan named Farkhor Airbase located in Farkhor, India’s first and only military base outside the country.
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