Does the iPad Air have a native calculator?

iPads do not have an actual Calculator App no, however you can use Spotlight search to make basic calculations by swiping down from the middle of the screen and entering an expression such as 25+42 or 45x12 and it will perform the calculation.

If you need more complex calculations, then yes, you can download an App from the App Store; there are a ton of them,. and many of them are free.

Unlike iPhone, iOS/iPadOS for iPad has never included a calculator.

In addition to using Siri’s calculator function (as described by Phil0124), there are some good free Calculator Apps obtainable from the App Store - and some very good paid examples.

Herewith a single sample of each from my personal favourites:

Free (and ad-free): Sci:Pro Calculator

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/sci-pro-calculator/id684978583

Paid: PCalc

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/pcalc/id284666222