Victory embraces the brave , colors= , colors_label= , battles=

Atlantique incident Pakistan Navy Atlantic shootdown happened on 10 August 1999, when a Breguet Atlantic maritime patrol aircraft of the Pakistan Naval Air Arm was shot down by a MiG 21 fighter of the Indian Air Force over the Rann of Kutch, on the border between ...

, Bhuj earthquake relief, 2001, Gujarat flood relief, 2005 , anniversaries= , commander1= Air Marshal Vikram Singh, VSM , commander1_label=

Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

, notable_commanders= , identification_symbol= , identification_symbol_label= , dates= The South Western Air Command is one of the five operational commands of the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

. It was raised in

Jodhpur Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the Ki ...

in July 1980 from the No.1 Operations Group of the

Western Air Command , colors= , colors_label= , battles= 1962 Sino-Indian War, 1971 India-Pakistan War, Operation Meghdoot , anniversaries= , commander1= Air Marshal Sreekumar Prabhakaran, AVSM, VM , commander1_label= Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief(AOC-in-C) , n ...

. Its operations sector includes most of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

, through

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

and Saurashtra, as far south as Kutch and

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

. The SWAC moved to its current headquarters in

Gandhinagar Gandhinagar (, ) is the capital of the state of Gujarat in India. Gandhinagar is located approximately 23 km north of Ahmedabad, on the west central point of the Industrial corridor between Delhi, the political capital of India, and Mu ...

in May 1998, and incorporates the Indian airbases of

Bhuj Bhuj () is a Municipality and District Headquarters of Kutch District in the state of Gujarat, India. Etymology According to legend, Kutch was ruled by the Nāga chieftains in the past. Sagai, a queen of Sheshapattana, who was married to Kin ...

Jaisalmer Jaisalmer , nicknamed "The Golden city", is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan, located west of the state capital Jaipur. The town stands on a ridge of yellowish sandstone and is crowned by the ancient Jaisalmer Fort. This fort contains a ...

Naliya Naliya is a town, which is also the taluka headquarters of Abdasa Taluka of Kutch District, Gujarat, India. It is located on the western end of Kutch 19 km by road from ancient port of Jakhau. History Naliya was a prosperous trading town ...

Jamnagar Jamnagar () is a city located on the western coast of India in the state of Gujarat of Saurashtra (region), Saurashtra region. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jamnagar district and the fifth largest city in Gujarat. The city lies ...

Uttarlai Uttarlai is a village in Barmer district of Rajasthan state of India. It also has an Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it i ...

/ Barmer and

. 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 Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

Nal NAL or Nal may refer to: In organizations: * Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary, in India * National Aerospace Laboratories, India * National Aerospace Laboratory of Japan * National Alliance of Liberals, a political party in Ghana * United States Nat ...

and

Suratgarh Suratgarh is a city and a municipality, just nearby Sri Ganganagar city in Sri Ganganagar district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded by Maharaja Surat Singh (1765 - 1828). Hindi, Bagri and Rajasthani are the widely spoken languag ...

. The SWAC's role has historically been largely of air defence, although it has been reported to have incorporated a strike profile.

Organisation

Squadrons include:

Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief

References

External links

* Bharat-Rakshak.com
IAF COMMAND STRUCTURE
{{Indian Air Force Commands of the Indian Air Force Military units and formations established in 1980 Military units and formations of the Indian Air Force 1980 establishments in Rajasthan