Introduction
Indian Air Force, an arm of Indian Armed forces and defines life of an Officer as the ‘life of a warrior’. As an officer in Indian Air Force, you are entrusted to guard the constitution and sky boundaries of the nation to protect the freedom of the country. Career in the the Air Force glorify you in society and in nation with immense degree of self satisfaction.
Therefore, the motto of IAF is also to ‘Touch the sky with Glory.’ There have been many glorious leaders in the Indian Air Force who have been honoured by many awards based on their dedicated services to the military and distinguished performance during the service.
Gallantry awards:
- Param Vir Chakra
- Mahavir Chakra
- Vir Chakra
- Ashok Chakra
- Kirti Chakra
- Shaurya Chakra
There are also several service medals that are awarded to officers for their service and gallantry like the Vayusena Medal.
Branches Available Under Indian Air Force
Duties under IAF are divided into mainly two categories:
- Flying Branch
- Ground Duty Branch
Flying Branch
As the name suggests, this branch is the beguiling aspect of IAF wherein you can be part of the military as a helicopter pilot, fighter pilot or a transport pilot. This service will allow you to serve the country in both war time and peace time missions.
Candidates can apply for the Flying Branch after 10+2 through the National Defence Academy Examination or after completing graduation through Combined Defence Services Examination (CDSE). Another medium to enter this branch is through the National Cadet Corps Special Entry.
Ground Duty Branch
Unlike the Flying Branch, the Ground duty branch is not involved in the flying part but the operational part of the Forces. It is further divided into two categories:
Technical Services:
As an officer in the Ground Duty (Technical) Branch, the personnel will be required to manage the team and ensure that the Indian Air Force remains airworthy. A technical officer will be in-charge of handling some of the most sophisticated equipment in the world by joining one of the sub branches. Some of these sub branches are Electrical, Mechanical, etc.
Non-Technical Services:
As a non-technical services officer, the personnel will be needed to manage all the material and human resources that form part of the IAF. This team manages the overall functioning of the entire services.
Candidates can apply in the Ground duty branch only after they complete their Graduation. For the technical branch, candidates with a four-year degree in engineering are only eligible to apply. While for the non-technical services one can apply with any graduate degree.
Selection Process
Before applying for a position in the Indian Air Force, an aspirant must know that an ideal height and weight is the basic requisite which is mentioned on the IAF website. For the candidates from North East region and Kumaon, Garhwal, and Gorkha region; there is a relaxation of 5 cm for height.
IAF expects the aspirant to be of sound physical and mental health, and free from any form of disability, so that there is no hindrance in performing the duties. Urine test, vision test, hernia test, and dental health test are some of the tests for which the aspirant needs to get his medical examination done.
Other than these medical tests, the candidate needs to qualify rigorous physical and mental examinations. They need to first qualify a general knowledge and reasoning test (like CDSE/NDA), once he/she qualifies that then there are many rounds of physical examination that checks the candidate’s physical rigour and mental strength.
Conducted by the Staff Selection Board (SSB), this process consists of the psychological test, group test and the Interview. The entire process usually lasts for up to 5 days.
The written test, and the step one for selection can be done through following examinations:
- NDA (National Defence Academy) Examination (for only 10+2 candidates)
- Combined Defence Services Examination (CDSE) (for graduates)
- NCC Special Entry (for Graduates)
- Air Force Common Admission Test ( AFCAT) (for Graduates)
For NDA/CDSE:
The advertisement for NDA is released twice a year, in Jun and December, and for CDSE in the months of July and November by UPSC.
For applications, the candidates are required to be sent to UPSC and then the test are conducted by UPSC.
For AFCAT – Air Force Common Admission Test:
For all entries other than NDA and CDSE and for all branches, the candidates must undergo AFCAT. These are mainly the ground duty branch positions for both technical and non-technical sections. Like CDSE and NDA, this test is also conducted twice a year i.e. in February and in September. The advertisements for AFCAT are released in the months of June and December. AFCAT test is conducted across India by the Indian Air Force.
AFCAT Previous Year Papers with Answers are available for download in PDF format.
Download FREE AFCAT Sample Papers designed by team of experts.
For NCC entry:
NCC cadets, who hold the position of Air Sqn NCC Senior division ‘C’ certificate, are eligible to apply for a position in IAF through Director General of NCC or through respective NCC Air Squadron. After this step, the candidates are required to appear for AFCAT. The NCC candidates have a special quota in IAF.
For the Flying Branch, candidates also need to appear for the Pilot Aptitude Battery Test (PABT). This test is designed to assess a candidate’s aptitude to be trained as a pilot. PABT includes three tests – Instrument Battery Test (INSB), Sensory Motor Apparatus Test (SMA), and Control Velocity Test (CVT).
Training Process
Candidates are trained at different venues depending on their commissioning. For NDA cadets, the training is held at NDA in Khadakwasla, Pune where initially cadets are trained with their Army and Navy counterparts. For specialisation, they are moved to the IAF Academy.
For the flying training, the IAF Officers are trained in the IAF Academy, Hyderabad where Stages I, II and III of the training are completed. If the candidate has not been trained under NDA, they complete a 6-month training at IAF Academy in Begumpet.
For the ground duty staff, various courses are offered to train the officer for Administrative, Logistics, Accounts, Education or Meteorology branch for a period of 1 year at the IAF Academy.
Salary and Allowances:
Following Pay / Allowances are applicable on grant of Commission as Flying Officer:-
- Flying officer is placed in Pay Band ( Common to all Branches ) – Rs 56,100 Per Month ( The officer will be placed in Level 10 in the Pay Matrix of VIIth CPC – 56,100-1,10,700)
- Military Service Pay :- Rs 15,500 Per Month
- Other allowances such as, Transport allowance, Children Education Allowance, House Rent Allowance( HRA )etc.
In addition to the above, following allowances are admissible to the newly Commissioned Officers in Flying and Technical Branches:
- Flying Allowance to Flying Branch Officers.
- Technical Allowance to Technical Branch Officers. Note:-Even before Commissioned as an Air Force Officer a monthly stipend of Rs. 56,100/- during last one year of training period at any of the Air Force Training Institutions is also paid.
Other Benefits:
Apart from the privilege and respect of being part of the military services of the country, officers are beneficiaries of many benefits during and after their services. During the service period, one gets furnished accommodation, Group Insurance Cover , while during and after their services one gets medical facilities, rations, membership to clubs and other recreational facilities.The officers also get the opportunity to go to foreign lands for training or for pursuing various courses.
An Air Force Officer is insured for an amount of Rs 75 lakhs with an additional insurance cover of Rs 10 lakhs for pilots.
Promotion and Posts in IAF
An IAF officer joins the service as a Flying Officer and can move to a position of a Chief Marshal. In India, there have been 22 Chief Air Marshals since the year 1955 when Subroto Mukherjee became the first Indian Air Marshal. Currently, Birender Singh Dhanoa is the Chief Marshal. Following are the ranks in IAF in descending order:
- Air Chief Marshal
- Air Marshal
- Air Vice Marshal
- Air Commodore
- Group Captain
- Wing Commander
- Squadron Leader
- Flight Lieutenant
- Flying Officer
The promotion also depends on your joining position since an officer is either a commissioned officer or a short-services commissioned officer. As a Commissioned Officer, an officer serves for a period of 10 years which can be extended up to 14 years. After completion of initial 10 years period an officer is given two options – either elect for a Permanent Commission or opt out. While for non-commissioned officer, he/she is given position of a Flight Lieutenant on completion of 2 years reckonable commissioned service, it can go up to a position of Wing Commander on completion of 13 years reckonable commissioned service.
Some Famous IAF Personnel
Marshal of Indian Air Force Arjan Singh was the first personnel who was promoted to the rank of Air Chief Marshal in the year 1966. The gallant officer who passed away in 2017 served as a commanding officer in the 1965 India Pakistan war and won the prestigious Padma Vibhushan. Post his retirement from IAF, he worked as a diplomat, political leader and even Lieutenant Governor of New Delhi. In the year 2002, he became the first and only officer of the Indian Air Force to be promoted to five-star rank i.e. that of a Marshal of the Indian Air Force. This rank is equal to that of Field Marshal in the Indian Army.
In the history of Indian Air Force, another name that will star forever is that of Avani Chaturvedi who has become the first woman fighter pilot (solo) for the country earlier this year. She was commissioned by the then defence Minister Manohar Parikar. The 24-year old officer from Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh joined the IAF Fighter Squadron in 2016, and she, along with two of her cohorts, Mohana Singh, and Bhawana Kanth became the first women who will rank as the first women combat pilots of IAF. Three of them are currently under further training.
