For decades, the Indian Air Force had air superiority over its regional competitors – Pakistan and China. However, the combination of Beijing’s domestic politics and technological achievements undermines India’s tactical advantages.

Being the fourth largest air force in the world, the Indian Air Force has 1,713 aircraft and 232 reconnaissance and attack aircraft. About 29% of its planes (511 units) are obsolete, most of them are combat planes, including MiG-21 PVO fighters and Sepecat Jaguar fighter-bombers.

Conventional designations:
On the map in blue – the deployment and armament of the Indian Air Force, in dark blue – the bases of the Pakistani Air Force, in green/orange – the deployment and forward deployment points of the aviation and BPLA 🇨🇳 NOAK at airfields in the Tibetan Autonomous Region (AR) and Xinjiang – Уйгурском АР Китая.