The IAF, from a support arm to a strategic force in the skies
The performance of the Pakistan Air Force signals a potential doctrinal shift, even though the army remains Pakistan's ultimate power broker
Updated At : 06:56 AM Jun 03, 2025 IST
Not adjunct: With Op Sindoor, the IAF has emerged as a fully integrated, offensive force. File photo
IN 2021, the late Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Bipin Rawat, had dismissively dubbed the Indian Air Force (IAF) as a 'support arm' of the Indian Army's (IA) combat units, like the artillery and engineers, during wartime. Speaking at a webinar organised by the Global Counter-Terrorism Council in New Delhi, General Rawat — who died in an IAF helicopter crash in 2022 — had asserted the supremacy of his parent service in remarks that provoked agitation, deepening further the long-standing operational rivalry between the IA and the air force.
