Current Affairs Defense

IAF resurrects 17 Squadron ‘Golden Arrows’ for Rafale

Category : Defense

  The Indian Air Force (IAF) resurrected the Air Force Station (AFS) Ambala-based 17 Squadron ‘Golden Arrows’, which will operate the first squadron of Rafale fighter jets. Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa presented a memento to Station Commander Group Captain Harkirat Singh to commemorate the occasion. The squadron was formed at Ambala on 01st Oct 1951 under the command of Flight Lieutenant D L Springett and was then equipped with Harvard-II B aircraft. Under the command of then Wing Commander BS Dhanoa, Golden Arrows participated actively in Operation Safed Sagar in 1999. On December 31, 2011, the squadron was ‘number plated’ after the Russian Mig-21 jets that it flew was decommissioned as part of the IAF’s long-term plan to phase the decades-old aircraft out of service and was since awaiting newer inductions.
Source: The Hindu


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