| South Western Air Command, Indian Air Force | |
|---|---|
Emblem of the South Western Air Command |
|
| Founded | 23 July 1980 |
| Country | India |
| Branch | Indian Air Force |
| Type | Operational Air Command |
| Role | Air Defence, Maritime strike role. |
| Headquarters | Gandhinagar |
| Motto | Sanskrit: Jai Shree Varte Veeramh Victory embraces the brave |
| Engagements | Atlantique incident, Bhuj earthquake relief, 2001, Gujarat flood relief, 2005 |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Air Marshal A K GOGOI AVSM |
The South Western Air Command is one of the five operational commands of the Indian Air Force. It was raised in Jodhpur in July 1980 from the No.1 Operations group of the Western Air Command. Its operations sector includes most of Rajasthan, through Gujarat and Saurashtra, as far south as Kutch and Poona. The SWAC moved to its current headquarters in Gandhinagar in May 1998, and incorporates the Indian airbases of Bhuj, Jaisalmer, Naliya, Jamnagar, Jodhpur, Uttarlai/Barmer and Poona. It controls air operations in the south western air sector, which includes most of Rajasthan, and south through Gujarat to Saurashtra, and Kutch to Pune. It also operates the forward airbases at Ahmedabad, Nal, Suratgarh and . The SWAC's role has historically been largely of air defence, although it has been reported to have incorporated a strike profile.
SWAC squadrons include:[1]
| Squadron | Base | Equipment | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 5 Squadron IAF | Uttarlai, Barmer, Rajasthan | Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 | 5 FBSU |
| No. 6 Squadron IAF | Jamnagar | SEPECAT Jaguar IM/IS/IT | No. 33 Wing |
| No. 10 Squadron IAF | Jodhpur | Mikoyan MiG-27MU | No. 32 Wing IAF |
| No. 11 Squadron IAF | Vadodara | BAe HS. 748 | No. 36 Wing IAF |
| No. 15 Squadron IAF | Bhuj AFS | MiG-21bis | No. 27 Wing IAF |
| No. 20 Squadron IAF | Poona/Lohegaeon | Sukhoi Su-30MKI | No. 2 Wing IAF |
| No. 25 Squadron IAF | Vadodara | Antonov An-32 | No. 36 Wing IAF |
| No. 28 Squadron IAF | Jamnagar | Mikoyan MiG-29 | No. 33 Wing |
| No. 29 Squadron IAF | Jodhpur | Mikoyan MiG-27MU | No. 32 Wing IAF |
| No. 30 Squadron IAF | Poona/Lohegaeon | Sukhoi Su-30MKI | No. 2 Wing IAF |
| No. 32 Squadron IAF | Jodhpur | Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 | No. 32 Wing IAF |
| No. 37 Squadron IAF | Jodhpur | Mikoyan MiG-27M | No. 32 Wing |
| No. 45 Squadron IAF | Raedhanpur - Naliya AFS | Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21bis | 12 FBSU |
| No. 101 Squadron IAF | Raedhanpur - Naliya AFS | Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21M | 12 FBSU |
It also operates a maritime attack squadron. The squadrons that form the SWAC include those operating MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-29 and Su-30. The maritime attack squadron operates Jaguar IM.
| Commands of the Indian Air Force | |
| Operational Commands | |
| Command | HQ Location |
| Central Air Command (CAC) | Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh |
| Eastern Air Command (EAC) | Shillong, Meghalaya |
| Southern Air Command (SAC) | Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala |
| South Western Air Command (SWAC) | Gandhinagar, Gujarat |
| Western Air Command (WAC) | Subroto Park, New Delhi |
| Functional Commands | |
| Training Command (TC) | Bangalore, Karnataka |
| Maintenance Command (MC) | Nagpur, Maharashtra |