Southern Air Command (India)

Southern Air Command
Emblem of the Southern Air Command
Founded	19 July 1984
Country	India
Branch	Indian Air Force
Type	Operational Air Command
Headquarters	Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
Motto(s)	Sanskrit: Antariksham Prashasmahe We Command the space
Commanders
Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief	Air Marshal Balakrishnan Manikantan, AVSM,VM

The Southern Air Command (SAC) of the Indian Air Force (IAF) is headquartered in Thiruvananthapuram, which is on the southwestern side of India. This is one among the seven commands of IAF. This command was started on 19 July 1984 and is relatively new among the other commands. The conflicts in Sri Lanka and the need for establishing a strong base over the Indian Ocean resulted to the formation of this new command. The SAC was inaugurated by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.^[1]

From 1984 to 1999, the command grew from 5 lodger units to 17 lodger units under its jurisdiction. Air-sea rescue in the Indian Ocean may be among the command's tasks.