Western Air Command (India)
# Western Air Command (India)

The Western Air Command (WAC) is the regional command of Indian Air Force headquartered in New Delhi. It is the largest and most important Air Command of the IAF, comprising sixteen Air Force Bases (AFBs), and is responsible for aerial defence of North India.

WAC's Area of Responsibility extends from Jammu and Kashmir to Rajasthan, also covering the states of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, New Delhi and Western Uttar Pradesh.

## History

WAC was raised in 1947 as the No. 1 Operational Group which controlled all the flying units of Indian Air Force, including the flying training units. On July 22, 1949, the No. 1 Operational Group was re-designated as the Operational Command. In 1958, the rank of the Commanding Officer of Operational Command was upgraded from Air Commodore to Air Vice Marshal and later, to the rank of Air Marshal.

In the aftermath of the India-China War of 1962, the IAF began the process of demarcation of specific areas of responsibility, and splitting up of the flying Corps into various operational air commands. On June 10, 1963, Operational Command assumed its present name of Headquarters Western Air Command.

Due to its geographical location in the crucial North Indian region, surrounded by Pakistan to the west and China to the East, WAC has been involved in all major operations in India since independence, and has been the hub-centre of all operational activities during any operation.

The IAF Western Air Command is engaged in air logistics operations to supply troops deployed at Siachen Glacier. These operations are undertaken from the Siachen Forward Air Base, using Mi-17, HAL Dhruv and HAL Cheetah helicopters.

The Western Air Command has been the major operational command involved in most of the war fought by India, including the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, Sino-Indian War in 1962, the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Indo-Pakistan War of 1971, Operation Pawan (1986) in Sri Lanka and Operation Safed Sagar during the 1999 Kargil War.

## Organization

Western Air Command is headquartered at Subroto Park, New Delhi. It is headed by an Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, WAC, of the rank of Air Marshal. Under the C-in-C come the Senior Air Staff Officer, Senior Maintenance Staff Officer and Senior Officer in Charge of Administration, who are of the ranks of Air Vice Marshal or Air Marshal. They handle the day-to-day activities of the Command and act as the liaison between the various Wings.

WAC also has a forward headquarters located at Chandigarh near the Army's Western Command. There is an Air Operations Group, formed in 1982, located at Udhampur, Jammu and Kashmir, which is principally tasked with the defence of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.

No. 224 Squadron, Indian Air Force was raised in July 1983 at Adampur and operated with WAC until its disbandment in 2007. Squadrons include:

| Squadron | Base | Equipment | Notes |
| - | - | - | - |
| No. 41 Squadron IAF | Palam Air Force Station | Avro 748 & Do-228M | No. 3 Wing |
| No. 3 Squadron IAF | Pathankot Air Force Station | MiG-21 Bison | No. 7 Wing |
| No. 125 Helicopter Squadron IAF | Pathankot Air Force Station | Boeing Apache | |
| No. 5 Squadron IAF | Ambala Air Force Station | Jaguar IS | No. 7 Wing |
| No. 14 Squadron IAF | Ambala Air Force Station | Jaguar IS | No. 7 Wing |
| No. 17 Squadron IAF | Ambala Air Force Station | Dassault Rafale | No. 7 Wing |
| No. 47 Squadron IAF | Adampur Air Force Station | Mig-29 | No. 8 Wing |
| No. 223 Squadron IAF | Adampur Air Force Station | Mig-29 | No. 8 Wing |
| No. 220 Squadron IAF | Halwara Air Force Station | Su-30 MKI | No.9 Wing |
| No. 221 Squadron IAF | Halwara Air Force Station | Su-30 MKI | No.9 Wing |
| No. 25 Squadron IAF | Chandigarh Air Force Station | Il-76/AN-32 | No. 12 Wing |
| No. 48 Squadron IAF | Chandigarh Air Force Station | AN-32 | No. 12 Wing |
| No. 126 Helicopter Flight, IAF | Chandigarh Air Force Station | Mi-26/Chinook | No. 12 Wing |
| No. 114 Helicopter Unit, IAF | Leh Air Force Station | HAL Cheetah | No. 23 Wing IAF |
| No. 130 Helicopter Unit, IAF | Leh Air Force Station | Mi-17 | No. 23 Wing IAF |
| No. 129 Helicopter Unit, IAF | Hindon Air Force Station | Mi-17 | No. 28 Wing |
| No. 131 Helicopter Flight, IAF | Hindon Air Force Station | HAL Cheetah | No. 28 Wing |
| No. 181 Helicopter Flight, IAF | Hindon Air Force Station | Avro 748M | No. 28 Wing |
| No. 117 Helicopter Unit, IAF | Sarsawa Air Force Station | HAL Dhruv | No. 30 Wing |
| No. 152 Helicopter Unit, IAF | Sarsawa Air Force Station | Mi-17 | No. 30 Wing |
| No. 132 Helicopter Flight, IAF | Udhampur Air Force Station | HAL Cheetah | No. 39 Wing |
| No. 153 Helicopter Unit, IAF | Udhampur Air Force Station | Mi-17 | No. 39 Wing |
| No. 21 Squadron IAF | Sirsa Air Force Station | Su-30MKI | No. 45 Wing |
| No. 51 Squadron IAF | Srinagar Air Force Station | Mig 21 Bison | |

### Air Bases

WAC has been assigned 10 permanent Air Force Stations (AFS)and 6 Forward Base Support Units (FBSUs), including the strategic Forward Air Base at Siachen. Along with these, WAC also has over 200 operational bases, Advance Landing Grounds (ALGs), and Operational centres placed under its command.

The Air Force Stations/Wings under WAC control are:

**Forward Base Support Units (FBSU)**

| Base | ICAO | Runway | Elevation | Coordinates | State/Territory |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Amritsar AFS | VIAR | 16/34 | 755 ft / 230 m | 31°42′27.95″N 74°47′57.25″E﻿ / ﻿31.7077639°N 74.7992361°E﻿ / 31.7077639; 74.7992361﻿ (Amritsar AFS) | Punjab |
| Bathinda AFS | VIBT | 13/31 | 700 ft /213 m | 30°16′12.50″N 74°45′20.78″E﻿ / ﻿30.2701389°N 74.7557722°E﻿ / 30.2701389; 74.7557722﻿ (Bhatinda AFS) | Punjab |
| Sarsawa AFS | VISP | 09/27 | 891 ft / 272 m | 29°59′39.53″N 77°25′27.25″E﻿ / ﻿29.9943139°N 77.4242361°E﻿ / 29.9943139; 77.4242361﻿ (Sarsawa AFS) | Uttar Pradesh |
| Siachen Glacier AFS | | | 22,000 ft / 6,706 m | 35°30′N 77°00′E﻿ / ﻿35.5°N 77.0°E﻿ / 35.5; 77.0﻿ (Siachen Glacier AFS) | Ladakh |
| Sirsa AFS | VISA | 05/23 | 650 ft / 198 m | 29°33′38.09″N 75°00′21.87″E﻿ / ﻿29.5605806°N 75.0060750°E﻿ / 29.5605806; 75.0060750﻿ (Sirsa AFS) | Haryana |
| Udhampur AFS | VIUX | 18/36 | 1,950 ft / 594 m | 32°54′08.06″N 75°09′18.54″E﻿ / ﻿32.9022389°N 75.1551500°E﻿ / 32.9022389; 75.1551500﻿ (Udhampur AFS) | Jammu & Kashmir |

## List of Commanders

| Rank | Name | Assumed office | Left office |
| - | - | - | - |
| Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Operational Group ||||
| Air Commodore | Mehar Singh | 22 December 1947 | 27 September 1948 |
| Air Commodore | Aspy Engineer | 27 September 1948 | 21 July 1949 |
| Air Officer Commanding Operational Command ||||
| Air Commodore | Aspy Engineer | 22 July 1949 | 11 December 1950 |
| Air Commodore | Arjan Singh | 12 December 1950 | 11 December 1952 |
| Air Commodore | Atma Ram Nanda | 12 December 1952 | 7 December 1955 |
| Air Commodore | Arjan Singh | 8 December 1955 | 30 April 1958 |
| Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Operational Command ||||
| Air Vice Marshal | Arjan Singh | 1 May 1958 | 17 November 1959 |
| Air Vice Marshal | Erlic Wilmot Pinto | 17 November 1959 | 9 June 1963 |
| Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Air Command ||||
| Air Vice Marshal | Erlic Wilmot Pinto | 10 January 1963 | 22 November 1963 |
| Air Vice Marshal | Pratap Chandra Lal | 24 November 1963 | 30 September 1964 |
| Air Vice Marshal | Ramaswamy Rajaram | 1 October 1964 | 4 March 1966 |
| Air Vice Marshal | Shivdev Singh | 5 March 1966 | 29 February 1968 |
| Air Marshal | Shivdev Singh | 1 March 1969 | 31 July 1969 |
| Air Marshal | Minoo Merwan Engineer | 6 August 1969 | 31 March 1973 |
| Air Marshal | Hrushikesh Moolgavkar | 1 April 1973 | 31 January 1976 |
| Air Marshal | Edul Jahangir Dhatigara | 1 February 1976 | 3 September 1978 |
| Air Marshal | Dilbagh Singh | 1 October 1978 | 31 December 1980 |
| Air Marshal | Lakshman Madhav Katre | 5 January 1981 | 28 February 1983 |
| Air Marshal | Malcolm Shirley Dundas Wollen | 1 March 1983 | 30 September 1981 |
| Air Marshal | Denis Anthony Lafontaine | 1 November 1981 | 2 July 1985 |
| Air Marshal | Man Mohan Singh | 22 July 1985 | 31 July 1988 |
| Air Marshal | Prithi Singh | 1 August 1988 | 30 April 1992 |
| Air Marshal | Swaroop Krishna Kaul | 1 May 1992 | 31 July 1993 |
| Air Marshal | Pratap Rao | 3 September 1993 | 5 July 1994 |
| Air Marshal | Satish Kumar Sareen | 6 July 1994 | 31 July 1995 |
| Air Marshal | Anil Yashwant Tipnis | 1 August 1995 | 31 March 1997 |
| Air Marshal | Vinod Patney | 1 April 1997 | 31 October 1999 |
| Air Marshal | Srinivasapuram Krishnaswamy | 1 November 1999 | 1 July 2001 |
| Air Marshal | Vinod Kumar Bhatia | 1 August 2001 | 28 April 2002 |
| Air Marshal | Adi Rustomji Ghandhi | 29 April 2002 | 16 November 2003 |
| Air Marshal | Shashindra Pal Tyagi | 16 November 2003 | 31 December 2004 |
| Air Marshal | Avdesh Kumar Singh | 1 January 2005 | 31 January 2007 |
| Air Marshal | Padamjit Singh Ahluwalia | 1 February 2007 | 31 December 2007 |
| Air Marshal | Pranab Kumar Barbora | 1 January 2008 | 31 May 2009 |
| Air Marshal | Norman Anil Kumar Browne | 1 January 2009 | 31 December 2010 |
| Air Marshal | Dinesh Chandra Kumaria | 1 January 2011 | 31 May 2012 |
| Air Marshal | Arup Raha | 1 June 2012 | 30 June 2013 |
| Air Marshal | Suneet Shripad Soman | 1 July 2013 | 31 August 2015 |
| Air Marshal | Shirish Baban Deo | 1 September 2015 | 31 December 2016 |
| Air Marshal | Chandrashekharan Hari Kumar | 1 January 2017 | 28 February 2019 |
| Air Marshal | Raghunath Nambiar | 1 March 2019 | 31 October 2019 |
| Air Marshal | Balakrishnan Suresh | 1 November 2019 | 31 July 2020 |
| Air Marshal | Vivek Ram Chaudhari | 1 August 2020 | 30 June 2021 |
| Air Marshal | Balabhadra Radha Krishna | 1 July 2021 | 30 September 2021 |
| Air Marshal | Amit Dev | 1 October 2021 | 28 February 2022 |
| Air Marshal | Sreekumar Prabhakaran | 1 March 2022 | 31 December 2022 |
| Air Marshal | Pankaj Mohan Sinha | 1 January 2023 | Incumbent |
