No. 125 Helicopter Squadron IAF

No. 125 Helicopter Squadron
Active	1 November 1983- Present
Country	Republic of India
Branch	Indian Air Force
Type	Attack Helicopter
Role	Close Air Support
Size	1 Squadron
Part of	Western Air Command
Garrison/HQ	Pathankot Air Force Station
Nickname(s)	"Gladiators"
Motto(s)	Balidaan Veerasya Bhushanam Sacrifice is jewel of Brave
Aircraft flown
Attack	Apache AH-64E

An Apache helicopter on the day of induction into the squadron.

No. 125 Helicopter Squadron (Gladiators) is a helicopter squadron and is equipped with Apache AH-64E and based at Pathankot Air Force Station. ^[1] It is one of the two helicopter squadrons operating the AH-64E in India with the other being 137 Helicopter Squadron.

History

The first Attack Helicopter Squadron of IAF was raised as 125 Helicopter Squadron on 1 November 1983 and equipped with Mi-25 helicopter Gunships. The squadron was reequipped with Mi-35 in April 1990. ^[2] On 3 September 2019, the squadron formally inducted the first batch of AH-64E Apache helicopters into the Indian Air Force. ^{[3] [4]}

Assignments

• IPKF Jaffna Operations
• DRC Peacekeeping Mission

Aircraft

Aircraft	From	To	Air Base
Mil Mi-25 U	1 November 1983	May 1990	Pathankot AFS [5]
Mil Mi-35	June 1990	August 2019
Boeing Apache AH-64E	3 September 2019	Present [4]

Incidents

On 3 April 2024, an Apache helicopter of the Indian Air Force made a precautionary landing in Ladakh region during an operational training sortie. The aircraft was damaged during the incident due to the rugged terrain and high altitude conditions. Both the pilots were safe. This marked the first such incident involving an Apache in India. ^{[6] [7]} By September, the assembly parts of the helicopter, based in Pathankot Air Force Station, was transported from the landing site North of Khardung La to Leh via road on a truck for further airlift. The aircraft would be repaired either in its home base or a Base Repair Depot in IAF. ^[8]

References

1. "Squadrons and Helicopter Units". Bharat Rakshak. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
2. "Our Strength". Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
3. "IAF gets its first batch of 8 US-made Apache attack helicopters". Hindustan Times. 3 September 2019. Archived from the original on 17 February 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
4. "IAF gets new firepower, inducts eight Apache attack helicopters". Indian Express. 4 September 2019.
5. "No.125 Helicopter Squadron Gladiators". Bharat Rakshak. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
6. "IAF Apache attack helicopter sustains damage during precautionary landing in Ladakh". The Hindu. 4 April 2024. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 6 June 2025.
7. "IAF's Apache attack helicopter makes emergency landing in Ladakh; both pilots safe". The Economic Times. 4 April 2024. ISSN   0013-0389 . Retrieved 6 June 2025.
8. "Fallen IAF copter retrieved from Ladakh on a truck". The Tribune. Retrieved 6 June 2025.