The Indian Air Force has been undergoing a modernization program to replace and upgrade outdated equipment since the late 1990s to meet modern standards. For that reason, it has started procuring and developing aircraft, weapons, associated technologies, and infrastructures. Some of these programs date back to the late 1980s. The primary focus of current modernization and upgrades is to replace aircraft purchased from the Soviet Union that currently form the backbone of the air force.
The Indian Air Force plans to attain a 42 squadron strength by 2035 and deploy 450 fighter jets each along the borders of Pakistan and China. The IAF will also acquire large numbers of stealthy autonomous UCAVs (DRDO Ghatak), swarm drones (ALFA-S) and uncrewed aircraft to transform into a fully advanced network-centric force capable of sustained multi-role operations along the entire spectrum. As of September 2024, the Indian Air Force also plans to indigenize their entire fighter jet fleet by 2042.
However, the 42-squadron strength target timeline has been derailed. As of October 2025, 31 combat squadrons were active and an establishment of only 35-36 squadrons can be achieved by 2035, even if projects such as the Tejas Mk1A, Tejas Mk2 and MRFA succeed on time.
Additionally, as per the “Unmanned Force Plan” published in July 2025, the Indian Air Force plans to acquire 30–50 units of small, medium or large category Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) within the next three to five years for "specific combat roles". The goal is to create a future-proof unmanned aircraft fleet. This was also announced by Air Commodore (Operations) Sandeep Singh.
Renaming In 2023, the IAF submitted a proposal to rename itself as the Indian Air and Space Force (IASF). The proposal is a part of the IAF's goals to become a credible space force. This proposal is part of the IAF's plan to expand its role in space-related activities, including precision navigation, timing (PNT), intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR), space traffic management, space situational awareness, and space weather prediction. The IAF aims to collaborate with organizations including the Indian Space Research Organisation, (ISRO), IN-SPACe, and India's private space sector to further its space related objectives. India plans to have over 100 small and large military satellites under the aegis of Defence Space Agency which is expected to be established as full fledged Space Command within seven to eight years. The IAF started training personnel, in 2023, to operate in space by incorporating theoretical studies at institutions such as the College of Air Warfare. In 2024, Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari, stated that the IAF has revised its existing doctrine and has recognized space as a critical domain for future operations.
Space equipment procurement, assets and development The IAF is increasing procuring and developing space related equipment and assets.
In 2023, the IAF was looking to procure the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV), a space plane being developed by ISRO. In March 2024, the Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan announced that the Indian Armed Forces had allocated Rs 25,000 crore for defence space requirements, including building a constellation of surveillance satellites in order to secure communications networks. In July 2024, the space startup Pixxel announced that it plans to supply miniaturised multi-payload satellites, for monitoring goals, to the IAF by 2025.
Delays in procurements On 17 December 2024, a parliamentary panel report stated that the Indian Air Force had a combat fleet strength of 31 squadrons against a minimum requirement of 42 squadrons. The decrease in squadron strength is due to the retirement of multiple ageing aircraft, including MiG-21s, MiG-23s and MiG-27s, in the 2000s and 2010s without replacement. However, "multi-pronged" approaches are being taken to "minimise the impact" as per the report. The depletion of squadron strength is planned to be addressed by the procurement of the HAL Tejas and HAL Tejas Mk2; and the MRFA programme.
By 23 December, the Ministry of Defence formed a high-level committee chaired by Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh. The committee was tasked with proposing a new Road Map to address the critical capability gap of the Air Force. There were a shortage of not only fighter jets but also force multipliers such as AEW&C, in-flight refuellers and ISR aircraft. The report of the panel was to be submitted by the end of January 2025 after surveying the IAF's "overall capability development through several indigenous design and development as well as direct acquisition projects". Members of the panel included DRDO chairman Samir V. Kamat, Secretary of Defence Production Sanjeev Kumar and Deputy Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Tejinder Singh among others. Stalled fighter aircraft acquisition includes 83 Tejas Mk1A on order and the MRFA programme. The Tejas programme was being delayed due to the supply delay of F-404 engines. The procurement of force multipliers will also be evaluated. India has only 6 Il-78MKI aircraft inducted in 2003-04 against a requirement of at least 18 such aircraft which are necessary to enhance operational range of combat aircraft. Also, IAF operates only 3 Netra and Phalcon AWACS (inducted in 2009-11) each. Programmes such as the Netra Mk1A and Mk2 needed to be fast-tracked as well.
Additional ageing aircraft to be retired, including:
SEPECAT Jaguar and Dassault Mirage 2000 (late 2020s onwards) Mikoyan MiG-29 (from 2027-28 to early 2040s) Sukhoi Su-30MKI (early production variants; 2040s onwards). Upgraded Super-30 variants from 2055 onwards. Another high-level committee was constituted also chaired by the Defence Secretary in early February 2025 with the objective to "streamline the production of indigenous light combat aircraft (LCA) and enhance the role of the private sector in making the fighter jets". Other members from all stakeholders including the Indian Air Force and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited are part of the committee. The committee has been repeatedly tasked to "scrutinising the current production capacity, constraints being faced and requirements of the Air Force" and submit its report within a month.
The Empowered Committee for Capability Enhancement of IAF submitted its report to the Ministry of Defence on 3 March 2025 after delays from the initial deadline of end of January. The committee suggested that the private sector should complement Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSU), DRDO and other government agencies in the defense and aerospace sector and also set some recommendations to be implemented in the "short, medium and long-term so as to achieve the desired capability enhancement goals of lAF in an optimal manner".
As of 17 March 2025, reports suggested that another top level committee was evaluating a "clear-cut strategy and production-cum-business model" to accelerate the development of Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). The committee is chaired by the Defence Secretary and its members include Secretary of Defence Production, Vice Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal SP Dharkar and top officials from Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The committee, tasked to devise a plan to "shrink timelines" to get AMCA from drawing board to air as well as the high thrust indigenous engine development, is expected to be its report submitted in April.
Following the ceremonial retirement of Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 from active service, the Air Force would be left with only 29 squadrons, lower than the squadron strength of the Air Force during Indo-Pakistani war of 1965 when the IAF had 32 squadrons.
Training gaps During the Parliament Winter Session in 2024, the Comptroller and Auditor General published a report to highlight the increased deficiencies in pilot training in the IAF. As per the report, the IAF had a deficit of 486 combat pilots in February 2015 and had plans to induct 222 pilots per year until 2021. However, initial annual intake ranged between 158 and 204 trainees and that after wastage ranged between 124 to 167, increasing the deficit to 596 by 2021. The pilot to seat ratio is 1.25:1 which, though enough for peacetime service, is too low for intense ops. Also, it was reported that the aircraft use for training pilots for all three streams (combat, helicopter and transport) was done on older aircraft. In case of fixed wing training, the planned procurement of 296 trainer aircraft by 2016 including 106 Basic Trainer Aircraft and 73 Intermediate Trainer Jets have stalled. The procurement, if successful, would have given enough training resources to the IAF until 2036. In case of rotary stream, pilots are being trained on HAL Chetak which was inducted half a decade ago.
Upgrade programmes Super Sukhoi
Procurement programmes +AircraftOriginTypeVariantUnits StatusNoteCombat aircraftHAL TejasMultiroleMk1A141On orderSu-30MKI Multirole12 Deliveries between FY2027–28 and 2029.Dassault RafaleMultirole114PlannedThe procurement kicked off when the Acquisition Wing of the MoD issued the Letter of Request (LoR) in the last week of May 2026. This will be followed by a response from France.AWACSNetra Mk 1A (EMB145) AEW&CMk1A6Under developmentBased on EMB 145 airframe.Netra Mk 2 (Airbus A321) AEW&CMk26Based on Airbus A321 airframe.HelicoptersHAL PrachandAttack66OrderedHAL Light Utility HelicopterUtility6Ordered6 units are being built under Limited Series Production (LSP).Trainer aircraftHAL TejasConversion TrainerMk118In production6 deliveredMk1A29OrderedHAL HTT-40Trainer7070 ordered worth ₹6,800 crore (US$900 million);Option for 35 moreTransport aircraftAirbus C-295TransportC-295MW40In production16 delivered of total 56. First 16 C295s assembled by Airbus in Seville, Spain, while the remaining 40 is being built in partnership with TASL in Vadodara, IndiaMedium Transport Aircraft (MTA)Transport60PlannedIn 2026, the Ministry of Defense issued the tender for the procurement of Medium Transport Aircraft for IAF. Contenders: Embraer C-390 Millenium, Airbus A400M Atlas and Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules.ReconnaissanceISTAR aircraftISTAR3Planned Flight Refueling AircraftBoeing 767Aerial RefuelerKC-767 MRTT6PlannedConverted from commercial aircraft.Aerial Refueler6PlannedPurpose-built mid-air refuellers.Unmanned combat aerial vehicleRemotely Piloted Strike Aircraft (RPSA)UCAV60PlannedFour squadrons with 20 aircraft each. DRDO Ghatak is expected to fulfil the requirement.
Fighter aircraft
HAL Tejas Mark 1A On 3 February 2021, the Ministry of Defence signed a contract with HAL for the procurement of 83 advanced HAL Tejas aircraft, which includes 73 Mark 1A and 10 Mark 1 trainer variants with advanced AESA Radars, jammers, superior avionics, next-gen BVR missiles, better payload, and enhanced combat range.
On 30 November 2023, DAC accorded AoNs for the procurement of additional 97 Tejas Mk 1A for the IAF from HAL under Buy (Indian-IDDM) category. The contract for 29 twin-seater and 68 fighter variants was signed on 25 September 2025.
Dassault Rafale
Transports
Airbus C295
Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA) The IAF is looking for a new transport aircraft with a cargo carrying capacity of (18–27 tonnes). The MTA programme is to replace the ageing in-service Antonov An-32 and Ilyushin Il-76 of the IAF with a fleet of medium-class transport aircraft. The Request for Information (RFI) was issued by the IAF in December 2022. IAF has asked for to provide “Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) cost of aircraft and associated equipment” for a batch of 40, 60 and 80 aircraft. The IAF needs the aircraft to be operable from unprepared runways including India’s Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) in Ladakh and Northeast India.
The participants in the programme include: