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.
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.
3. IAF’s Hindon Air Force Station, situated near Ghaziabad is the largest in Asia and the 8th largest in the world.
4. The highest Air Force Station is Siachen Glacier AFS situated at a height of 22,000 ft or (or 6,706 m).
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.
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.
7. The IAF created a world record by airlifting around 20,000 civilians in ‘Raahat’ mission during floods in Uttarakhand.
8. IAF has a base in Tajikistan named Farkhor Airbase located in Farkhor, India’s first and only military base outside the country.
