NEW DELHI: IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria on Wednesday is scheduled to operationalise a new squadron armed with the indigenous fighter aircraft Tejas. Here is all you need to know about IAF's new squadron —
The No. 18 Squadron is known as 'Flying Bullets'.
The Squadron will be armed with newly-inducted, indigenous fighter aircraft LCA Tejas in fully operational capability (FOC).
This will be the second IAF squadron to be equipped with the Tejas fighter jets.
The Squadron will be based at Sulur airbase near Coimbatore.
This makes Sulur the only airbase in the country to operate two squadrons of Tejas.
No. 45 squadron ‘Flying Daggers’ at the station was the first squadron armoured with Tejas.
No. 18 Squadron was formed on April 15, 1965, with the motto Teevra aur Nirbhaya (swift and fearless).
The squadron was flying MiG 27 fighters before they were decommissioned on April 15, 2016.
The squadron was resurrected on April 01, 2020, at the Sulur station.
The squadron participated in the 1971 war with Pakistan and was decorated with the highest gallantry award Param Vir Chakra awarded to flying officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon posthumously.
It also earned the sobriquet of ‘Defenders of Kashmir Valley’ by being the first to land and operate from Srinagar.
The squadron was awarded the prestigious President's Standard in November 2015.
In 2016, Tejas became a part of the IAF after it was formally inducted in No. 45 Squadron.
The fourth-generation fighter aircraft is developed by Aeronautical Development Agency and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for the IAF and Indian Navy.
The Initial Operational Capability (IOC) aircraft are armed with close combat air-to-air missiles, helmet-mounted display and precision-guided weapons like laser-guided bombs. These aircraft are also capable of dropping unguided bombs with greater accuracy due to highly advanced indigenous mission computer.
Aircraft with Final Operational Clearance (FOC) would incorporate beyond visual range (BVR) missiles, improved and better stand-off weapons and air-to-air refuelling capability.