IAF No.17 'Golden Arrows' Squadron: IAF's Ambala Air Base To Station And Operate The Best-In-Class Gen 4.5 Rafale Fighter Jets

It will be India's first major acquisition of fighter planes in over two decades. The first squadron of the Rafale jets will be stationed at IAF's Ambala air base while the second one will be based at Hasimara base in West Bengal

TWITTER IMAGE POSTED BY @Indian_Embassy ON MONDAY, JULY 27, 2020** Merignac: First batch of five Rafale fighter aircraft fly out from France to India. (PTI Photo)

A glorious chapter will get added to the golden annals of the Indian Air Force (IAF) as the French major Dassault Aviation-manufactured omni-role Rafale jets will touch base at the No.17 Squadron in Ambala later in the afternoon. As much as the lean and mean flying machines, the Rafales, will hog the attention all across the defence tabaliods to historically become the first 4.5 generation aircraft to get inducted into Indian Air Force's strike Arsenal, the IAF's No.17 Squadron, popularly nicknamed as the 'Golden Arrows', will also grab its share of attention for becoming the first ever IAF squadron to induct the 4.5 generation French manufactured fighter jets. Also Read: 5 Rafale Fighter Jets To Touch Down At IAF's Ambala-Based 'Golden Arrow' Squadron Today, India's Aerial Strike Capability To Get Massive Impetus

 Chief of Air Staff RKS Bhadauria will be at the strategically important Ambala airbase to receive the first consignment of 5 Rafale jets, India's first major acquisition of fighter planes in over two decades. The defence ministry signed a whopping Rs 59,000-crore deal on Sept 23, 2016 for 36 Rafale jets from French aerospace major Dassault Aviation.

Here is a brief overview of the IAF's No.17 (Golden Arrow) Squadron

No. 17 Squadron is a squadron of the Indian Air Force (IAF) stationed at Ambala AFS under the operational command of Western Air Command.

• The No.17 Squadron of the IAF was formed in 1951, serving as home to the de Havilland Vampire F Mk 52 fighters.
• No. 17 Squadron holds a legacy of stationing and operating the best-in-class fighter jets of their era. For nearly two decades, the squadron served as the base for the Hawker Hunters from 1957 to 1975.
• The squadron operated the much famed Soviet Union manufactured MiG 21 fighter jets from Bhatinda airbase for 4 decades (1975-2016). The squadron was disbanded in 2016 after the IAF started gradual phasing out of Russian-origin Mig-21 jets.
• The squadron has a glorious past of being commanded by some of the most proficient fighter pilots of the Indian Air Force who went onto tenant noteworthy appointments later on in their careers.
   The squadron was commanded by former Chief of Air Staff BS Dhanoa during the 1999 Kargil War.
  Marshal of the Indian Air Force late Arjan Singh as well as Air Marshal Subroto Mukherjee, the first Indian commander-in-chief of the Air Force, also commanded the Ambala Air Base as a group captain.
  The squadron was awarded its President's Standard on 8 November 1988 at Palam. Ambala Air Force Station is considered one of the most strategically located bases of the Indian Air Force. The Indo-Pak border is around 220 km from there.
  Merignac: The crew of the first batch of Rafale aircrafts preparing to take off from Dassault Aviation Facility, Merignac, in France, Monday, July 27, 2020. (PTI Photo) Merignac: The first batch of Rafale aircrafts prepares to take off from Dassault Aviation Facility, Merignac, in France, Monday, July 27, 2020. (PTI Photo)
  History and Significance of the Ambala Air Base
   Ambala Air Force Station is considered one of the most strategically located bases of the Indian Air Force along the North-West Air axis. The Indo-Pak border is around 220 kilometers from IAF base.
  The IAF Ambala Air base has the distinction of being one of the oldest airbases, leaning its history back to almost a century, when the Royal Air Force's 99 Squadron was formed in 1919. The base served as the headquarters of the Royal Air Force, India Command in 1922. During the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak Wars, the Ambala Airbase came under heavy bombardment from the fighter jets of the Pakistani Air Force From 1948 till 1954, the Ambala base also functioned as the flying instructors' school.
   The base also played a critical role during IAF's Operation Safed Sagar in the 1999 Kargil Military conflict, and the 2001-2002 India-Pakistan military stand-off known as Operation Parakram.

While the first squadron of the Rafale jets will be stationed at IAF's Ambala air base, the second one will be based at Hasimara base in West Bengal.