The Indian Air Force which was formed on Oct 8, 1932, will complete 90 years today.On 8 October 1932, the Indian Air Force came into being and on 1st April 1954 Air Marshal Subroto Mukherjee, one of the founding members of the Air Force took over as the first Indian Chief of Air Staff.
In recognition of the valiant service by the IAF, King George VI conferred the prefix "Royal" in 1945. Thereafter the IAF was referred to as the Royal Indian Air Force. In 1950, when India became a republic, the prefix was dropped and it reverted to being the Indian Air Force.Subroto Mukerjee was the first Indian ever to command a flight and a squadron in the Indian Air Force. He later rose in the annals of the Air Force and became the first Indian Chief of the Air Staff of the independent India's Air Force.
Since 1950, the IAF has been involved in four wars with neighbouring Pakistan.From the the Congo Crisis (1960-1966), the Annexation of Goa (1961), the Second Kashmir War (1965), the Bangladesh Liberation War (1971) to the Kargil War (1999), and the Balakot airstrike and the India-Pakistan standoff of 2019- the world has witnessed the saga of IAF's unflinching valour for a number of times.
As a part of the 90th anniversary celebration, nearly 80 military aircraft and helicopters will be participating in the Air Force Day fly-past on Saturday at the Sukhna Lake complex.It is for the first time that the IAF decided to hold its annual Air Force Day parade and fly-past outside the Delhi NCR.Before the air show, a ceremonial parade will be held at the air force station on Saturday morning. Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari will inspect the parade.The Chief of Air Staff will also unveil the new pattern of combat uniform for the IAF personnel on this occasion, they said
