5 Rafale Fighter Jets Join The IAF Fleet: Here's A Brief History Of 17 Squadron 'Golden Arrows'
Nicknamed the Golden Arrows, the 17 Squadron which is part of the IAF's Western Air Command was raised in Ambala on 1 October 1951.
Beginning a new chapter in its illustrious history, the Indian Air Force inducted the first batch of Rafale Fighter Jets into its fleet.
The five Indian Air Force Rafale aircraft that had arrived at Air Force Station, Ambala from France on July 27, was inducted during a programme that included the ceremonial unveiling of the Rafale aircraft, a traditional sarva dharma puja, air display by Rafale and Tejas aircraft as well as by the Sarang aerobatic team.
#WATCH Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister of the Armed Forces of France Florence Parly, witness the traditional 'Sarva Dharma Puja' at the Rafale induction ceremony, at Ambala airbase pic.twitter.com/0z74ECflJd
¡ª ANI (@ANI) September 10, 2020
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister of the Armed Forces of France Florence Parly were the chief guests for the event which was also attended by the likes of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria, Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar, Dr G Satheesh Reddy, Secretary Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO along with other senior officers of the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces.
The French delegation was represented by Emmanuel Lenain Ambassador of France to India, Air General Eric Autellet, Vice Chief of the Air Staff of the French Air Force and other senior officials.
'Sarva Dharma Puja' conducted at the Rafale induction ceremony, at IAF airbase in Ambala
¡ª ANI (@ANI) September 10, 2020
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Minister of the Armed Forces of France Florence Parly and Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria present. pic.twitter.com/Bu2A54z8HD
The first Rafale jets will become part of the IAF's 17 Squadron, which is based in Ambala, Haryana.
Nicknamed the Golden Arrows, the 17 Squadron which is part of the IAF's Western Air Command was raised in Ambala on 1 October 1951.
Initially it started with US-designed T-6 Texan trainer aircraft commonly known as Harvard IIB and later the de Havilland Vampire aircraft and the British made Hawker Hunter fighter-bomber aircraft.
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The 17 Squadron played key roles in the wars in 1961, 1971 and the Kargil War.
In 1991 May, the 17 Squadron which was flying the MiG 21s, were among the first to confirm the presence of Pakistani troops in Kargil.
However later in May, the Squadron suffered a major loss after it was deployed to search for Flt Lt K Nachiketa, who was part of the 9 Squadron and his Mig 27 had suffered a flameout and he was forced to eject.
Sqn Ldr Ajay Ahuja and Fg Offr PG Reddy were on the search for Flt Lt K Nachiketa when his MiG 21 was hit by a missile and he was forced to eject.
While he ejected Sqn Ldr Ahuja was captured and killed by Pakistan.
He was posthumously awarded the Vir Chakra, India¡¯s third-highest gallantry award.
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The squadron was disbanded in 2016 after the IAF started gradually phasing out Russian-origin Mig 21 jets, but was revived to induct the Rafale jets.
Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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