There are twenty-one air squadrons in the Indian Navy. Of these, ten operate fixed-wing aircraft, eight 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. In 1951, the Fleet Requirement Unit (FRU) was formed to meet the aviation requirements of the navy. On 11 March, the FRU was commissioned at Cochin with ten newly acquired Sealand aircraft. 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 (insignia pictured), to be the first Indian naval air squadron. Over the decades, the Navy inducted more air squadrons with aircraft including Sea Hawks, Alizés, HAL Chetaks, Sea King 42Bs, Ilyushin Il-38s, Ka-25s, Ka-28s, Ka-31s, MiG-29Ks, HAL Dhruvs, Sikorsky SH-3s, Boeing P-8I etc. and aircraft carriers INS Vikrant, INS Viraat and INS Vikramaditya. (Full list...)
Insignia of INAS 550 (Flying Fish)
Insignia of INAS 550 (Flying Fish)