IAF inducts frontline fighter SU-30MKI

The squadron known as the ‘Desert Tigers’, was flying the MIG- 23 till 2005 and was number-plated after the aircraft were phased out from IAF  Scaling up its presence along the Pakistan border, the Indian Air Force inducted its frontline fighter aircraft SU-30MKI at the Halwara air base in Punjab.  This is the first squadron of the SU-30MKI to be inducted into the (WAC) Western Air Command — known as the sword arm of the IAF.  “The aircraft was inducted into the air base under the WAC in a formal ceremony by Air Marshal Mr Arup Raha,” Western Air Command spokesperson Group Captain Sandeep Mehta said.  The squadron known as the ‘Desert Tigers’, was flying the MIG 23 till 2005 and was number-plated after the aircraft were phased out from the IAF. The SU-30 MKI is a frontline all-weather air-dominance fighter with multi-role capability, which can undertake varied air combat and ground attack missions.  Highlighting the strategic importance of the Halwara air base, the WAC said, “It is one of the oldest frontline bases of the IAF and due to its strategic location was actively involved in both 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak wars.”  From being home to Spitfires in early 1950s to the hub of Mig-23 operations till 2009, it was later chosen to base the first SU-30 MKI Squadron in the Western Air Command in 2011.

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com


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