The most powerful asset of an air force is its fighter aircraft because in times of war these fighter jets deliver a crucial bow to its enemies. Being the fourth most powerful air force in the world, Indian Air Force has many fighter aircraft in its inventory. It is estimated that the Indian Air Force contains 1,645 aircraft in its inventory. Out of these 1,645 aircraft IAF has 632 fighters in its inventory.
Here’s the list of the fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force :-
| Name | Type | Quantity | Origin |
| Dassault Rafale | Multirole fighter aircraft | 36 | France |
| Sukhoi Su-30 | Multirole fighter aircraft | 272 | Russia |
| HAL Tejas | Multirole fighter aircraft | 40 | India |
| MiG-29 | Multirole fighter aircraft | 65 | Russia |
| Mirage 2000 | Multirole fighter aircraft | 51 | France |
| SEPECAT Jaguar | Ground Attack fighter aircraft | 130 | United Kingdom |
| MiG-21 | Interceptor fighter aircraft | 72 | Soviet Union |
Dassault Rafale
Rafale, a twin jet fighter aircraft, is now in The Indian Air Force. This fighter jet is going to make a significant change in the Air Force as it is a powerful war aircraft ready to eradicate the enemies of our country.It is also referred to as Omnirole aircraft. It is intended to perform air supremacy, can do ground support and can destroy the ships and aircraft of our enemies.
India received its first Rafale on 29 July 2020. India received 36 Rafale aircraft until now.
Sukhoi Su-30
The backbone of the Indian Air Force (IAF) is its one of the most advanced and powerful aircraft Sukhoi Su-30 MKIs. Popularly known as Sukhoi fighter aircraft.
It is a twinjet aircraft specialised in multirole air superiority. It is developed by Russia’s Sukhoi and was built under licence by India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
India signed a deal in 2000 with Russia to manufacture 140 SU-30 fighter jets.
On 26 February 2019, India launched an airstrike in Pakistan airspace on Jaish-e-Mohammad camp under Balakot Air Strike. In this airstrike mission Four Sukhoi aircraft escorted Mirage 2000s into Pakistan airspace.
HAL Tejas
The HAL Tejas is an Indian, single engine, delta wing, light multirole fighter designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) in collaboration with Aircraft Research and Design Centre (ARDC) of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy. It is the smallest and lightest in its class of contemporary supersonic combat aircraft.
There are 123 aircraft to be built for the Indian Air Force out of which 26 were inducted in February 2022.
MiG-29 fighter aircraft
The Mikoyan MiG-29 is a twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Mikoyan design bureau has developed this air superiority aircraft.
India was the first international customer of the MiG-29. MiG-29s were used extensively during the 1999 Kargil War in Kashmir by the Indian Air Force to attack targets with laser-guided bombs.
India has 65 MiG-29 fighter aircraft in its inventory.
Mirage 2000
The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine, fourth-generation jet fighter. It is manufactured by Dassault Aviation. During Operation Safed Sagar from May to July 1999, the two Mirage squadrons flew a total of 514 sorties with only three drop outs during which it dropped 55,000 kg of artillery on our enemies.
During the 2001–02 India–Pakistan standoff, IAF Mirage 2000s were used to destroy Pakistani bunkers with precision-guided bombs
On 26 February 2019, 12 Mirage 2000s were used to strike a Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp in Balakot, Pakistan
During the 2020 China-India standoff, India deployed Mirage 2000s along the line of actual control, particularly after the Galwan Valley skirmish near Pangong Tso in the Ladakh region.
SEPECAT Jaguar
The SEPECAT Jaguar is an Anglo-French jet attack aircraft originally used by the British Royal Air Force and the French Air Force in the close air support and nuclear strike role. It is still in service with the Indian Air Force. They later played an active role in the 1999 Kargil War with Pakistan, dropping both unguided and laser-guided bombs,the IAF defining its role as a “deep penetrating strike aircraft”
Currently, IAF has 130 SEPECAT Jaguars in its inventory.
MiG-21 fighter aircraft
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. India is the largest operator of MiG-21s. The MiG-21 became the first supersonic fighter jet to enter service with the IAF. The IAF MiG-21 played a limited role in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.
During the Kargil War, two MiG-21FLs of the Indian Air Force intercepted and shot down a Pakistan’s Naval Air Arms Atlantic maritime patrol aircraft with an R-60 missile after it allegedly entered Indian airspace for surveillance, killing all on board.
During 2019 Jammu and Kashmir airstrikes, the Pakistani planes entered our airspace and to intercept them MiG-21 along with its pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan and shot down their JF-17 fighter aircraft. MiG-21 was also shot down by the Pakistani Air Force and the pilot was captured. He was later returned to India.
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References from :- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_active_Indian_military_aircraft
