IAF Day special: Jet fighters and bombers of Indian Air Force

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force was the first to induct jet fighters in Asia way back in 1948. Since then jet fighters has been at the forefront of our Air Force. These included legends like Hunter and Gnat. Post 1947, India operated only two aircraft that can be classified as 'bombers'. One of the types was of World War II vintage, while the other was a classic in the annals of "Jet' bombers. Let's have a look at the modern day war machines of the Indian Air Force:1. Sukhoi Su-30MKI The Sukhoi Su-30MKI is an air superiority fighter jointly developed by Russia's Sukhoi and India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force (IAF). A variant of the Sukhoi Su-30, it is a heavy, all-weather, long-range fighter. Development of the variant started after India signed a deal with Russia in 2000 to manufacture 140 Su-30 fighter jets. The first Russian-made Su-30MKI variant was accepted into the Indian Air Force in 2002, while the first indigenously assembled Su-30MKI entered service with the IAF in 2004. The IAF has 157 Su-30MKIs in active service as of January 2012; it plans to have a fleet of 272. The Su-30MKI is expected to form the backbone of the Indian Air Force's fighter fleet to 2020 and beyond. The aircraft is tailor-made for Indian specifications and integrates Indian systems and avionics as well as French and Israeli subsystems. It has abilities similar to the Sukhoi Su-35 with which it shares many features and components.2. MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 is a fourth-generation jet fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. The MiG-29 has been manufactured in several major variants, including the multirole Mikoyan MiG-29M and the navalised Mikoyan MiG-29K; the most advanced member of the family to date is the Mikoyan MiG-35. Following a series of accidents related to poor maintenance, the Russian Air Force has begun upgrading most remaining aircraft to the modernised MiG-29SMT configuration. 3. MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. It was popularly nicknamed "balalaika", from the aircraft's planform-view resemblance to the Russian stringed musical instrument or ołówek by Polish pilots due to the shape of its fuselage. Early versions are considered second-generation jet fighters, while later versions are considered to be third-generation jet fighters. The fighter made aviation records. At least by name, it is the most-produced supersonic jet aircraft in aviation history and the most-produced combat aircraft since the Korean War, and it had the longest production run of a combat aircraft (1959 to 1985 over all variants). 4. MiG-27 The Mikoyan MiG-27 is a variable-geometry ground-attack aircraft, originally built by the Mikoyan design bureau in the Soviet Union and later license-produced in India by Hindustan Aeronautics as the Bahadur ("Valiant"). It is based on the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 fighter aircraft, but optimized for air-to-ground attack. Unlike the MiG-23, the MiG-27 did not see widespread use outside Russia, as most countries opted for the MiG-23BN and Sukhoi Su-25 instead. It currently only remains in service with the Indian, Kazakh and Sri Lankan Air Forces in the ground attack role. All Russian and Ukrainian MiG-27s have been retired. 5. Jaguar The SEPECAT Jaguar is an Anglo-French jet ground attack aircraft, originally used by the British Royal Air Force and the French Armée de l'Air in the close air support and nuclear strike role, and still in service with several export customers, notably the Indian Air Force and the Royal Air Force of Oman. Originally conceived in the 1960s as jet trainer with a light ground attack capability, the requirement for the aircraft soon changed to include supersonic performance, reconnaissance and tactical nuclear strike roles. The Jaguar was successfully exported to India, Oman, Ecuador and Nigeria. 6. Tejas The HAL Tejas is a lightweight multirole fighter developed by India. It is a tailless,[N 1] compound delta-wing design powered by a single engine. It came from the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme, which began in the 1980s to replace India's ageing MiG-21 fighters. Later, the LCA was officially named "Tejas", meaning "Radiance" by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The Tejas has a pure delta wing configuration, with no tailplanes or foreplanes, and a single dorsal fin. The Indian Air Force (IAF) is reported to have a requirement for 200 single-seat and 20 two-seat conversion trainers, while the Indian Navy may order up to 40 single-seaters to replace its Sea Harrier FRS.51 and Harrier T.60. The Tejas was cleared in January 2011 for use by Indian Air Force pilots. It is to reach final operational clearance in 2013.