IAF’s Squadron 18 ‘Flying Bullets’ operationalised
| Date :28-May-2020 |
COIMBATORE (TN) ;
THE Indian Air Force on Wednesday inducted the first Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas FOC (Final Operational Clearance) standard and operationalised its Squadron 18 “Flying Bullets” at the Air Force Station at Sulur in the city’s outskirts. An Inter faith prayer was performed before induction of Tejas Mk-1, manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautical Ltd, Bengaluru, whose Chairman and Managing Director, R Madhavan handed over its documents to Air Chief Marshal and Chief of Air Staff R K S Bhadauria. A coconut was also broken to mark the induction of Tejas.
Bhadauria handed over a representational key of the first LCA Tejas Mk-1 FOC fighter to Group Captain Manish Tolani, Commanding Officer of No. 18 Squadron at the Air Force Station, Sulur. Earlier, Bhadauria flew a sortie on an Initial Clearance Operation (IOC) aircraft from the 45 Squadron Flying Daggers. Tejas is an indigenous fourth generation tailless compound delta wing aircraft. The No.18 Squadron will be the second one to have the home-made Tejas, after the 45 Squadron based here.
The aircraft is equipped with fly-by-wire flight control system, integrated digital avionics and multi-mode radar, while its structure is made of composite material. It is the lightest and smallest in its group of fourth generation supersonic combat aircraft. The No 18 Squadron, formed in 1965 with the motto “Teevra aur Nirbhaya” meaning “Swift and Fearless,” was earlier flying MiG 27 aircraft. The Squadron “actively participated” in the 1971 war with Pakistan and had earned the sobriquet “Defenders of Kashmir Valley” by being the first to land and operate from Srinagar.
