Indian Air Force a commanding officer with the rank of wing commander. Some transport squadrons and helicopter units are headed by a commanding officer with the rank of group captain. Flights are sub-divisions of squadrons, commanded by a squadron leader. Each flight consists of two sections. The smallest unit is the section, led by a flight lieutenant. Each section consists of three aircraft. Within this formation structure, IAF has several service branches for day-to-day operations. They are: In September 2004, the IAF established its own special operation unit called the Garud Commando Force, consisting of approximately 1,500 personnel. For starting this special force
Air force officer ranks of air force rank insignia in use, many air forces use army-style rank insignia whilst others follow the Royal Air Force style (shown below). Air force officer ranks Many Air forces of use a rank system similar to Armies, however, the RAF and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries, or those formerly under a British influence, use a different set of ranks loosely based on naval equivalents; Lieutenant, Commander, Captain and Commodore are prefixed for air force use with "Flight", "Wing", "Group" and "Air", respectively (the first three being the units that they used to command). To assist in