The Southern Air Command (SAC) of the Indian Air Force (IAF) is headquartered in Thiruvananthapuram, which is in the southern side of India. This is one among the seven commands of IAF. This command was started on 19 July 1984 and is relatively new among the other commands. The conflicts in Sri Lanka and the need for establishing a strong base over the Indian Ocean resulted to the formation of this new command. The SAC was inaugurated by Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India.[2]
| Southern Air Command | |
|---|---|
 Emblem of the Southern Air Command | |
| Founded | 19 July 1984 |
| Country | India |
| Branch | Indian Air Force |
| Type | Operational Air Command |
| Headquarters | Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala |
| Motto(s) | Sanskrit: Antariksham Prashasmahe We Command the space |
| Commanders | |
| Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief | Air Marshal Amit Tiwari, AVSM, VM[1] |
From 1984 to 1999, the command grew from 5 lodger units to 17 lodger units under its jurisdiction. Air-sea rescue in the Indian Ocean may be among the command's tasks.
Organization
Squadrons include:
| Squadron | Base | Equipment | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 121 Helicopter Flight, IAF | Car Nicobar Air Force Station | Mil Mi-8 | No. 37 Wing |
| No. 122 Helicopter Flight, IAF | Car Nicobar Air Force Station | Mil Mi-8 | No. 37 Wing |
| No. 33 Squadron IAF | Sulur Air Force Station | Antonov An-32 | No. 43 Wing |
| No. 109 Helicopter Unit, IAF | Sulur Air Force Station | Mi-17 V5 | No. 43 Wing |
| No. 45 Squadron IAF[3] | Sulur Air Force Station | HAL Tejas | No. 43 Wing |
| Thanjavur Air Force Station | Sukhoi Su-30 MKI[4] |
Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief
| Rank | Name | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air Marshal | Jasbir Walia | 1 June 2015 [5] | 31 July 2016 |
| Sunderraman Neelakantan | 1 August 2016 | 1 March 2017 | |
| Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria | 1 March 2017 | 1 August 2018 | |
| Balakrishnan Suresh | 1 August 2018 | 30 October 2019 | |
| Amit Tiwari | 1 November 2019 | Present |
External links
- Indian Air Force, Southern Air Command
References
- ^ @DefencePROTvm (1 November 2019). "ir Mshl Amit Tiwari, has taken over as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief,SAC. An impressive guard of honour presented to Air Marshal Tiwari on taking over the Command" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Indian Air Force, Southern Air Command Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/indian-made-tejas-fighter-aircraft-takes-first-flight-from-air-force-station-in-sulur-kerala-1876739
- ^ Feb 28, TNN | Updated:; 2019; Ist, 4:37. "Sulur air base to get one more LCA squadron | Coimbatore News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
{{cite web}}:|last2=has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Air Marshal Jasbir Walia assumes charge". 1 June 2015.