The Indian Navy currently operates twenty-five air squadrons. Of these, eleven operate fixed-wing aircraft, ten are helicopter squadrons and the remaining three are equipped with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). Building on the legacy inherited from the Royal Navy prior to Indian independence, the concept of naval aviation in India started with the establishment of Directorate of Naval Aviation at Naval Headquarters (NHQ) in early 1948. Later that year officers and sailors from the Indian Navy were sent to Britain for pilot training. In 1951, the Fleet Requirement Unit (FRU) was formed to meet the aviation requirements of the navy. On 1 January 1953, the charge of Cochin airfield was handed over to the navy from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. On 11 March, the FRU was commissioned at Cochin with ten newly acquired Sealand aircraft. The navy's first air station, INS Garuda, was commissioned two months later. From February 1955 to December 1958, ten Firefly aircraft were acquired. To meet the training requirements of the pilots, the indigenously developed HAL HT-2 trainer was inducted into the FRU. On 17 January 1959, the FRU was commissioned as Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS) 550, to be the first Indian naval air squadron. In the following two years, three more naval air squadrons—INAS 300, INAS 310 and INAS 551—were commissioned. The first two operated from the newly purchased aircraft carrier INS Vikrant flying Sea Hawks and Alizés, whereas the latter one, equipped with Vampires, was used for training purposes.

Between 1961 and 1971, three helicopter squadrons were commissioned—INAS 321, INAS 330 and INAS 561. The first two were equipped with HAL Chetak and Sea King 42Bs for search and rescue and anti-submarine roles respectively, whereas the later one assumed a training role. In December 1971, the squadrons embarked on the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant saw action in the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War. Between 1976 and 1977, INAS 312 and INAS 315 were commissioned with Super Constellation and Ilyushin Il-38s respectively. In December 1980, another helicopter squadron intended for anti-submarine warfare—INAS 333—was commissioned. It was initially equipped with Ka-25s, and with Ka-28s in late 1980s. In 1984, one patrol and one helicopter squadron—INAS 318 and INAS 336—were commissioned. The patrol squadron was initially equipped with Islander aircraft, but they were replaced by Dornier 228s in 2000. In November 1990, another Sea King squadron—INAS 339—was commissioned. Later in 1993, the Sea Kings were replaced by Ka-28s, and in 2003, Ka-31s were inducted, making it the only Indian naval air squadron for the role of airborne early warning and control.

Though several new fixed wing aircraft and helicopters were inducted into the navy in the early 2000s, they were assigned to the existing squadrons with no new squadrons being commissioned until 2006. In January of that year, INAS 342, the first squadron to be equipped with UAVs, was commissioned. Later that year, the Sea Harrier training assigned to INAS 551 were detached and commissioned separately as INAS 552. However, the Sea Harriers were phased out in May 2016, and presently the operational status of the squadron is unknown. On 24 March 2009, for the first time, two squadrons—INAS 311 and INAS 350—were commissioned on the same day. INAS 311 is intended for maritime patrol and operates Dornier 228s, whereas INAS 350, a multirole helicopter squadron, operates Sikorsky SH-3s. In 2011–2012, another two UAV squadrons—INAS 343 and INAS 344—were commissioned. In 2013, a fighter plane and a multirole helicopter squadron—INAS 303 and INAS 322—were commissioned with MiG-29Ks and HAL Dhruvs. On 6 March 2024, INAS 334 was commissioned with Sikorsky MH-60R helicopters.

List of Squadrons

*  Indicates a helicopter squadron

Squadron name	Insignia	Nickname	Aircraft operated		Role	Established	Citations
			Aircraft	Period
INAS 300		White Tigers	Hawker Sea Hawk	July 1960 – December 1983	Fighter	7 July 1960
			BAE Sea Harrier	December 1983 – May 2016
			Mikoyan MiG 29K/KUB	May 2016 – present
INAS 303		Black Panthers	Mikoyan MiG-29K	May 2013 – present	Fighter	11 May 2013
INAS 310		Cobras	Breguet Alizé Br.1050	March 1961 – April 1991	Anti-submarine warfare	21 March 1961
			Dornier 228	August 1991 – present	Electronic warfare Maritime patrol
INAS 311		Kites	Dornier 228	March 2009 – present	Electronic warfare Maritime patrol	24 March 2009
INAS 312		Albatross	Lockheed Super Constellation	November 1976 – 1983	Maritime patrol Anti-submarine warfare	18 November 1976
			Tupolev TU-142M	April 1988 – March 2017
			Boeing P-8I Poseidon	November 2016 – present
INAS 313		Sea Eagles	Dornier 228	22 July 2019 – present	Maritime patrol Search and Rescue	22 July 2019
INAS 314		Raptors	Dornier 228	29 November 2019 – present	Maritime patrol Search and Rescue	29 November 2019
INAS 315		Winged Stallions	Ilyushin Il-38	1 October 1977 – 31 October 2023	Maritime patrol Anti-submarine warfare	1 October 1977
INAS 316		The Condors	Boeing P-8I Poseidon	29 March 2022 – present	Maritime patrol Anti-submarine warfare	29 March 2022
INAS 318		Hawks	Britten-Norman Islander	March 1984 – May 2000	Maritime patrol	10 March 1984
			Dornier 228	May 2000 – present
INAS 321*		Angels	Alouette III/ HAL Chetak	March 1969 – present	Search and rescue	15 March 1969
INAS 322*		Guardians	HAL Dhruv	November 2013 – present	Multirole	12 November 2013
INAS 323*		Harriers	HAL Dhruv Mk.III MR	April 2021 – present	Multirole	19 April 2021
INAS 324*		Kestrels	HAL Dhruv Mk.III MR	July 2022 – present	Multirole	4 July 2022
INAS 330*		Harpoons	Sea King 42B	April 1971 – present	Anti-submarine warfare	17 April 1971
INAS 333*		Eagles	Kamov Ka-25	December 1980 – April 2009	Anti-submarine warfare	11 December 1980
			Kamov Ka-28	1989 – present
INAS 334*			Sikorsky MH-60R	6 March 2024 - present	Multirole	6 March 2024
INAS 336*		Flaming Arrows	Sea King 42B	December 1984 – present	Anti-submarine warfare Training	20 December 1984
INAS 339*		Falcons	Sea King 42B	November 1990 – March 1993	Airborne early warning and control	23 November 1990
			Kamov Ka-28	March 1993 – May 2009
			Kamov Ka-31	2003 – present
INAS 342		Flying Sentinels	IAI Searcher Mk. II IAI Heron	January 2006 – present	Reconnaissance	6 January 2006
INAS 343		Frontier Formidables	IAI Searcher Mk. II IAI Heron	January 2011 – present	Reconnaissance	17 January 2011
INAS 344		Spirited Shadowers	IAI Searcher Mk. II IAI Heron	April 2012 – present	Reconnaissance	11 April 2012
INAS 350*		Saras	Sikorsky UH-3H	March 2009 – June 2024	Multirole	24 March 2009
			Sea King 42C	June 2024 – present
INAS 550		Flying Fish	Short Sealand	June 1959 – mid 1960s	Maritime patrol	15 June 1959
			Fairey Firefly	February 1954 – scrapped
			HAL HT-2	October 1956 – 1976
			Britten-Norman Islander	1976 – 2016
			HAL HPT-32	January 1976 – October 1987
			Dornier 228	1995 – present
INAS 551		Phantoms	de Havilland Vampire	September 1961 – 1965	Training	5 September 1961
			Hawker Sea Hawk	September 1962 – December 1983
			Kiran Mk 1	1970 – 1986
			Kiran Mk 2	1986 – present
			BAE Sea Harrier	1990 – 2006
			BAE Hawk Mk 132	November 2013 – Present
			Kiran Mk 2	May 2003 – present	Aerobatics
INAS 552		Braves	BAE Sea Harrier	July 2006 – 2016	Flight testing	7 July 2006
INAS 561*		Rotors	Hughes S-300	September 1971 – 1983	Training	15 September 1971
			Alouette III/ HAL Chetak	September 1971 – present

See also

• Indian Naval Air Arm
• List of Indian naval aircraft