Indian Air Force ranks and insignia

Equivalent ranks of Indian military
	Commissioned ranks
	Junior commissioned ranks
	Non-commissioned ranks
	Footnotes
	^ Risaldar major in cavalry and armoured regiments ; ^ Risaldar in cavalry and armoured regiments ; ^ Naib risaldar in cavalry and armoured regiments.; Called jemadar until 1965. ;

The Indian Air Force (IAF), the aerial component of the Indian Armed Forces follows a certain hierarchy of rank designations and insignia derived from the erstwhile Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF).^[1]

History

The Indian Air Force Ensign.

1947-1950

Upon the establishment of establishment of India's independence in 1947, the country became a dominion within the British Commonwealth of Nations; nevertheless, the armed forces, namely, the British Indian Army (BIA), the Royal Indian Navy (RIN) and the Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) - under the helm of King George VI as the Commander-in-Chief, retained their respective pre-independence ranks and corresponding insignia.^[2]

1950-present

In May 1949, Lord Mountbatten, the inaugural Governor-General of India and himself a naval officer, dispatched a note to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, titled Names and Insignia of Indian Armed Forces, containing a list of suggestions regarding the nomenclature of the armed forces that were to be enforced upon the dominion's conversion to a republic.^[2]

In the note, Mountbatten proposed that the future IAF should retain its predecessor's nomenclature as much as possible - advocating the retention of the RIAF's ranks, insignia and uniforms.^[2] It was later decided that the rank braids of the officers cadre remained unchanged, whilst the three lions of Ashoka i.e., the State Emblem of India should replace the Tudor Crown on the insignia, flying badges and peak caps of airmen ranks.^[3] Additionally, busts of the State Emblem and a semi-Chakra were incorporated as the main features on the badges corresponding to Master Warrant Officers (MWO) and Warrant Officers (WO); nonetheless, the MWO's badge was decided to be superimposed on the rank braids of the Pilot Officers.^[3]

In September 1949, Nehru forwarded the proposals to the country's minister of defence, Baldev Singh, recommending Mountbatten's suggestions, which were consequently enforced upon India's emergence as a republic on 26 January 1950.^[2]

Structure

Presently, the IAF's rank hierarchy is divided into three broad categories:

Commissioned Officers (CO)
Junior Commissioned Officers (JCO)
Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO)

Commissioned Officers

Rank group	General / flag officers					Senior officers			Junior officers
Epaulette/Collar rank insignia
Indian Air Force^[4] v t e
Indian Air Force^[4] v t e	Marshal of the Indian Air Force मार्शल ऑफ द इंडियन एयरफोर्स	Air chief marshal एयर चीफ मार्शल	Air marshal एयर मार्शल	Air vice marshal एयर वाइस मार्शल	Air commodore एयर कमोडोर	Group captain ग्रुप कैप्टन	Wing commander विंग कमांडर	Squadron leader स्क्वाड्रन लीडर	Flight lieutenant फ्लाइट लैफ्टिनेंट	Flying officer फ्लाइंग अफसर

Command flags


MIAF	Air Chf Mshl	Air Mshl	AVM	Air Cdre	Gp Capt	Wg Cdr

The IAF has ten commissioned officer (CO) ranks, of which the highest is that of Marshal of the Indian Air Force (MIAF), a ceremonial five-star rank.^[5] The rank was awarded for the first, yet only time in January 2002 to then-retired Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh DFC, who served as the IAF's third Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) between 1964 and 1969, for his exceptional leadership of the IAF during the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War.^[5]

The highest operational rank in the IAF is the four-star rank of Air Chief Marshal, currently held exclusively by the CAS; coincidentally, the first time the rank was awarded was also to Singh in 1966, when he was then an Air Marshal.^[6] Prior to him, CAS appointees belonged to the three-star rank of Air Marshal.^[6]

Collar tabs

Sometime towards the end of Air Chief Marshal S. K. Sareen's tenure in 1998, the IAF introduced a new series gorget patches for its CO cadre - blue collar tabs embossed with white stars denoting the rank of the particular wearer; five for MIAF, four for Air Chief Marshal, three for Air Marshal, two for Air Vice Marshal and one for Air Commodore.^[7] Initially, for the rank of Air Marshal, the collar tabs did not immediately distinguish between the positions of Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS), Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) and other three-star designated positions; however, later three-star collar tabs were embossed with a wreath design to solely indicate the positions of VCAS and AOC-in-C.^[7]

Junior commissioned officer and non-commissioned ranks

The rank of Master Warrant Officer was introduced in February 1950.^[8]

Rank group	Subordinate Officers (SOs)										Non commissioned officers																		Enlisted
Indian Air Force^[9] v t e																																			No insignia
Indian Air Force^[9] v t e	Master warrant officer मास्टर वारंट अफसर						Warrant officer वारंट अफसर		Junior warrant officer जूनियर वारंट अफसर		Sergeant सार्जेंट												Corporal कॉरपोरल						Leading aircraftsman लीडिंग एयरक्राफ्ट्समैन						Aircraftsman एयरक्राफ्ट्समैन

Former ranks

Effective from 16 May 1977, the rank of Flight Sergeant was abolished and replaced with the rank of Junior Warrant Officer; existing warrant officer rank insignia were modified accordingly.^[10]^[11]

The rank of Pilot Officer is no longer in use; all new officers are commissioned as Flying Officers.

**Former/Discontinued Ranks**
	Officers		Non-commissioned officers
Shoulder Insignia		Arm
Rank	Pilot officer पायलट अफसर		Warrant officer वारंट अफसर	Junior warrant officer जूनियर वारंट अफसर	Flight sergeant फ्लाइट सार्जेंट

References

^ "Military Digest: As Indian Navy looks to introduce new ranks, a look at foreign origins of Naval ranks". The Indian Express. 16 October 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "How India adopted its military flags and badges based on Lord Mountbatten's suggestions". optimizeias.com.
^ ^a ^b "New Designs of Crests and Badges in the Service" (PDF). 5 January 1950. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 August 2017.
^ "For Officers". careerairforce.nic.in. Indian Air Force. Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Arjan Singh made IAF Marshal". The Tribune. 25 January 2002.
^ ^a ^b "India's First Marshal of the Air Force". archive.pib.gov.in. 25 January 2002.
^ ^a ^b "Uniforms, Badges and Other Regalia - Collar Tabs". www.bharat-rakshak.com. 30 November 1999.
^ "First Batch of IAF Master Warrant Officers" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 14 February 1950. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
^ "For Airmen". careerairforce.nic.in. Indian Air Force. Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
^ "IAF officers badges". 15 May 1977. Archived from the original on 22 May 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
^ "Flight Sergeants Become Junior Warrant Officers" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 15 May 1977. Retrieved 21 January 2024.

[submaj-1] Risaldar major in cavalry and armoured regiments

[sub-2] Risaldar in cavalry and armoured regiments

[nbsub-3] Naib risaldar in cavalry and armoured regiments.
Called jemadar until 1965.

[4] "Military Digest: As Indian Navy looks to introduce new ranks, a look at foreign origins of Naval ranks". The Indian Express. 16 October 2023.

[Changes-5] "How India adopted its military flags and badges based on Lord Mountbatten's suggestions". optimizeias.com.

[Insignia_Archive-6] "New Designs of Crests and Badges in the Service" (PDF). 5 January 1950. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 August 2017.

[7] "For Officers". careerairforce.nic.in. Indian Air Force. Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2021.

[Arjan-8] "Arjan Singh made IAF Marshal". The Tribune. 25 January 2002.

[Air_Chf_Mshl-9] "India's First Marshal of the Air Force". archive.pib.gov.in. 25 January 2002.

[Regalia-10] "Uniforms, Badges and Other Regalia - Collar Tabs". www.bharat-rakshak.com. 30 November 1999.

[11] "First Batch of IAF Master Warrant Officers" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 14 February 1950. Retrieved 21 January 2024.

[12] "For Airmen". careerairforce.nic.in. Indian Air Force. Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2021.

[13] "IAF officers badges". 15 May 1977. Archived from the original on 22 May 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2021.

[14] "Flight Sergeants Become Junior Warrant Officers" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 15 May 1977. Retrieved 21 January 2024.

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Equivalent ranks of Indian military
Indian Navy	Indian Army	Indian Air Force
Commissioned ranks
Admiral of the fleet	Field marshal	Marshal of the Indian Air Force
Admiral	General	Air chief marshal
Vice admiral	Lieutenant general	Air marshal
Rear admiral	Major general	Air vice marshal
Commodore	Brigadier	Air commodore
Captain	Colonel	Group captain
Commander	Lieutenant colonel	Wing commander
Lieutenant commander	Major	Squadron leader
Lieutenant	Captain	Flight lieutenant
Sub lieutenant	Lieutenant	Flying officer
Junior commissioned ranks
Master chief petty officer 1st class	Subedar major^{[Alt 1]}	Master warrant officer
Master chief petty officer 2nd class	Subedar^{[Alt 2]}	Warrant officer
Chief petty officer	Naib subedar^{[Alt 3]}	Junior warrant officer
Non-commissioned ranks
Petty officer	Havildar/Daffadar	Sergeant
Leading seaman	Naik/Lance daffadar	Corporal
Seaman 1	Lance naik/ Acting Lance-Daffadar	Leading aircraftsman
Seaman 2	Sepoy/Sowar	Aircraftsman
Footnotes
^ Risaldar major in cavalry and armoured regiments ^ Risaldar in cavalry and armoured regiments ^ Naib risaldar in cavalry and armoured regiments. Called jemadar until 1965.