Training Command (India)
{{more citations needed|date=April 2009}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name = Air Training Command
| image = Traininig cmd jpg.jpg
| image_size = 200px
| caption = Emblem of the Training Air Command
| dates =
| country = India
| branch = Indian Air Force
| type = Operational Air Command
| role = Flying and ground training.
| size =
| command_structure =
| garrison = Bangalore, Karnataka
| garrison_label = Headquarters
| nickname =
| motto = {{langx|sa-Latn|Tamasoma Jyotirgamaya}}
"From darkness, lead us unto Light"
| colors =
| colors_label =
| battles =
| anniversaries =
| commander1 = Air Marshal Tejinder Singh, AVSM, VM
| commander1_label = Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief
| notable_commanders =
| identification_symbol =
| identification_symbol_label =
| start_date = 22 July 1949
}}
Training Command is the Indian Air Force's command responsible for flying and ground training.
In the 1930s, the approaching threat and later advent of World War II and the leaning of Japan towards the Axis powers, the latter was considered as a potential enemy. Therefore, need was felt to make IAF a self-supporting force for the South Eastern Theatre of war. This led to the rapid expansion of the IAF. A target was fixed of 10 IAF Squadrons. With this expansion, the requirement of pilots and technical personnel increased. For the training of technical personnel, a technical training school was set up at Ambala in 1940.
In a 1949 reorganisation of the Indian Air Force, while frontline units were put under the Operations Command, all the training institutions were placed under the jurisdiction of the Training Command.Sarkar, Hindustan year-book and who's who, 536
Among Training Command's units is the Navigation Training School at Begumpet Air Force Station, Hyderabad. It flies the BAe HS. 748,Dutch Aviation Society, [http://www.scramble.nl/mil/2/india/iaf-orbat.htm Indian Air Force Order of Battle] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111109193309/http://www.scramble.nl/mil/2/india/iaf-orbat.htm |date=2011-11-09 }}, verified October 2011 the Basic Flying Training School and the Air Force Administrative College. The Hawk Operational Training Squadron and Weapon System Operators' School are located at Bidar Air Force Station which flows the Hawk Mk 132 trainer aircraft.
Early training platforms
Before and during the early years of Training Command’s establishment, the Indian Air Force relied on British-origin trainer aircraft such as the de Havilland Tiger Moth, Percival Prentice, and the North American Harvard to train successive batches of pilots. These aircraft formed the bedrock of IAF’s basic and advanced flight training from the 1930s through the 1950s, before being gradually replaced by indigenous and jet-powered platforms. A detailed account of this evolution has been documented in:{{cite web |last=Gupta |first=Anchit |title=Trainer Aircraft of the IAF: The First Steeds |url=https://iafhistory.in/2023/11/14/trainer-aircraft-of-the-iaf-the-first-steeds/ |website=IAFHistory |date=14 November 2023 |access-date=5 May 2025}}
Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| +List of Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief
! Rank ! Name ! From ! To |
| rowspan="5"|Air commodore
| {{dts|format=dmy|1949|07|22}}{{cite news|url=http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/Units/TC|title=Training Command - BRF |access-date=29 May 2021|website=Bharat Rakshak}} | {{dts|format=dmy|1952|12|03}} |
| Surendra Nath Goyal
| {{dts|format=dmy|1952|12|17}} | {{dts|format=dmy|1956|01|10}} |
| Pratap Chandra Lal
| {{dts|format=dmy|1956|01|11}} | {{dts|format=dmy|1957|11|20}} |
| Kanwar Jaswant Singh
| {{dts|format=dmy|1958|05|27}} | {{dts|format=dmy|1959|03|22}} |
| rowspan='2'|Ranjan Dutt
| {{dts|format=dmy|1959|03|23}} | {{dts|format=dmy|1960|04|12}} |
| rowspan='7'|Air Vice Marshal
| {{dts|format=dmy|1960|04|13}} | {{dts|format=dmy|1960|12|29}} |
| Surendra Nath Goyal
| {{dts|format=dmy|1961|04|01}} | {{dts|format=dmy|1966|08|06}} |
| Teja Singh Virk
| {{dts|format=dmy|1966|08|10}} | {{dts|format=dmy|1969|08|22}} |
| Victor Srihari
| {{dts|format=dmy|1969|08|30}} | {{dts|format=dmy|1972|03|03}} |
| Anand Ramdas Pandit
| {{dts|format=dmy|1972|03|04}} | {{dts|format=dmy|1973|04|08}} |
| Gian Dev Sharma
| {{dts|format=dmy|1973|04|09}} | {{dts|format=dmy|1947|06|29}} |
| George Kanishtkumar John
| {{dts|format=dmy|1974|07|01}} | {{dts|format=dmy|1976|03|22}} |
| rowspan='31'|Air Marshal
| {{dts|format=dmy|1976|04|22}} | {{dts|format=dmy|1976|09|22}} |
| Randhir Singh
| {{dts|format=dmy|1976|10|23}} | {{dts|format=dmy|1978|04|29}} |
| Hemant Ramkrishna Chitnis
| {{dts|format=dmy|1978|05|11}} | {{dts|format=dmy|1979|02|19}} |
| George Kanishtkumar John
| {{dts|format=dmy|1979|02|20}} | {{dts|format=dmy|1979|09|30}} |
| Balwant Wickram Chauhan
| {{dts|format=dmy|1979|10|29}} | {{dts|format=dmy|1981|09|19}} |
| Erasseri Pathayapurayil Radhakrishnan Nair
| {{dts|format=dmy|1981|10|20}} | {{dts|format=dmy|1985|02|28}} |
| Vir Narain
| {{dts|format=dmy|1985|03|01}} | {{dts|format=dmy|1987|11|30}} |
| Jagdish Kumar Seth
| {{dts|format=dmy|1987|12|01}} | {{dts|format=dmy|1991|09|30}} |
| Rajendra Kumar Dhawan
| {{dts|format=dmy|1991|10|07}} | {{dts|format=dmy|1993|05|31}} |
| Verinder Puri
| {{dts|format=dmy|1993|09|03}} | {{dts|format=dmy|1995|05|31}} |
| Krishna Bihari Singh
| {{dts|format=dmy|1995|07|01}} | {{dts|format=dmy|1997|12|31}} |
| Jagbir Singh Rai
| {{dts|format=dmy|1998|01|01}} | {{dts|format=dmy|2001|03|31}} |
| Teshter Jall Master
| {{dts|format=dmy|2001|04|01}} | {{dts|format=dmy|2002|12|31}} |
| Bijoy Krishna Pandey
| {{dts|format=dmy|2003|02|03}} | {{dts|format=dmy|2004|05|31}} |
| Subhash Bhojwani
| {{dts|format=dmy|2004|07|12}} | {{dts|format=dmy|2006|01|31}} |
| Bhushan Nilkanth Gokhale
| {{dts|format=dmy|2006|03|01}} | {{dts|format=dmy|2006|10|31}} |
| Gurnam Singh Choudhary
| {{dts|format=dmy|2006|11|01}} | {{dts|format=dmy|2008|04|30}} |
| Venkataraman Ramamurthy Iyer
| {{dts|format=dmy|2008|05|01}} | {{dts|format=dmy|2010|11|30}} |
| Dhiraj Kukreja
| {{dts|format=dmy|2010|12|01}} | {{dts|format=dmy|2012|02|29}} |
| Rajinder Singh
| {{dts|format=dmy|2012|03|01}} | {{dts|format=dmy|2013|06|30}} |
| Paramjit Singh Gill
| {{dts|format=dmy|2013|07|01}} | {{dts|format=dmy|2014|06|30}} |
| Ramesh Rai
| {{dts|format=dmy|2014|07|01}} | {{dts|format=dmy|2015|07|31}} |
| Sridharan Panicker Radha Krishnan Nair
| {{dts|format=dmy|2015|09|01}} | {{dts|format=dmy|2018|07|31}} |
| Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria
| {{dts|format=dmy|2018|08|01}} | {{dts|format=dmy|2019|04|30}} |
| Surendra Kumar Ghotia
| {{dts|format=dmy|2019|05|01}} | {{dts|format=dmy|2019|09|30}} |
| Arvindra Singh Butola
| {{dts|format=dmy|2019|10|01}} | {{dts|format=dmy|2020|09|30}} |
| Rajiv Dayal Mathur
| {{dts|format=dmy|2020|10|01}} | {{dts|format=dmy|2021|07|31}}{{cite web|url=https://bharatshakti.in/air-force-change-of-guard-at-critical-posts/|title=Rapid Turnover in IAF Brass|publisher=Bharat Shakti|date=2021-05-29}} |
| Manavendra Singh
| {{dts|format=dmy|2021|09|25}} | {{dts|format=dmy|2022|12|31}} |
| Radhakrishnan Radhish
| {{dts|format=dmy|2023|01|01}}{{cite web|url=https://indianairforce.nic.in/training-command/|title=Training Command IAF|publisher=IAF|date=2023-01-01}} |{{dts|format=dmy|2024|04|30}} |
| Nagesh Kapoor
|{{dts|format=dmy|2024|05|01}} |{{dts|format=dmy|2025|04|30}} |
| Tejinder Singh
|{{dts|format=dmy|2025|05|01}} |Incumbent |
See also
Notes
{{reflist}}
Sources
- {{cite book|last=Sarkar|first=M. C.|title=Hindustan year-book and who's who|year=1962|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FQ0UAAAAIAAJ&q=%22Training+Command%22+|access-date=2009-04-17}}
{{Military of India}}
{{Indian Air Force}}
Category:Commands of the Indian Air Force
Category:Military units and formations of the Indian Air Force