Air commodore

Air commodore is a senior rank in the air forces of the United Kingdom and other countries including Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan and Zimbabwe. It is a one-star rank and is an air officer (Flag Rank, Deputy Director General Level) rank. It originated in, and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force.

Air commodore is abbreviated as Air Cdre in the Royal Air Force and Pakistan Air Force; Air Cmde in the Indian Air Force, and AIR CDRE in the RNZAF and RAAF. In Commonwealth usage, the name of the rank is always the full phrase; it is never shortened to "commodore", which is a rank in various naval forces.

The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure.

Air commodore is immediately senior to group captain and immediately subordinate to air vice-marshal. It has a NATO ranking code of OF-6 and is equivalent to a commodore in the Royal Navy or a brigadier in the British Army or the Royal Marines. Unlike these two ranks, however, it has always been a substantive rank.

Air commodores have always been considered to be air officers whilst Royal Navy commodores have not since the Napoleonic Wars been classified as officers of flag rank, and British Army brigadiers have not been considered to be general officers since 1922 when they ceased to be titled as brigadier-generals. In other NATO forces, such as the United States Armed Forces and the Canadian Armed Forces, the equivalent one-star rank is brigadier general.

The equivalent rank in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, Women's Royal Air Force (until 1968) and Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service (until 1980) was "air commandant".