No. 220 Squadron | |
---|---|
Active |
|
Country | Republic of India |
Branch | Indian Air Force |
Role | Close Air Support Air Defence |
Garrison/HQ | Halwara AFS |
Nickname(s) | "Desert Tigers" |
Motto(s) | Shauryam Tejo Dhritih Valour, Energy and Firmness |
No. 220 Squadron (Desert Tigers) is a fighter squadron and is equipped with Su-30 MKIs and based at Halwara Air Force Station. [1]
From its birth until just short of the Indo-Pak war of 1965, the role of the squadron was Operational Conversion onto Vampire aircraft of the freshly commissioned pilots. The squadron, later re-equipped with the Indigenous HF-24 Marut in April 1969 and flew the Marut in the 1971 Indo-Pak War. In June 1981, the squadron converted onto the MiG-23BN., [2] It was raised at IAF Station Jodhpur and in year 1997 It moved to IAF Station Halwara.
IAF had disbanded the 220 Squadron in June 2005 because of very old aircraft, but resurrected that with the induction of the SU 30 MKIs on 25 September 2012. [3] They received the President's standards at Halwara AFS on 20 September 2013. [4]
Aircraft Type | From | To | Air Base |
---|---|---|---|
de Havilland Vampire FB.52 | 9 January 1963 | 1 May 2006 | AFS Palam |
HF-24 Marut | April 1969 | June 1981 | |
MiG-23 BN | June 1981 | 1997 | |
1997 | July 2005 | AFS Halwara | |
Su-30 MKI | 1 September 2011 | Present |
The HAL HF-24 Marut was an Indian jet fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) during the 1960s and early 70s. The Marut was designed by the German aeronautical engineer Kurt Tank, with the Project Engineer being George William Benjamin. The aircraft was the first Indian-developed jet fighter and the first in Asia, outside the Soviet Union, to go beyond the test phase and into serial production and active service. On 17 June 1961, the type conducted its maiden flight; on 1 April 1967, the first production Marut was officially delivered to the IAF.
Halwara Air Force Station is an Indian Air Force (IAF) base near Halwara town in Punjab, India. It is one of the oldest frontline airbases of the IAF and was actively involved in both, 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak conflicts because of its strategic location. It is home to the 220 Squadron known as "Desert Tigers" and 221 Squadron known as "Valiants" flying the Sukhoi Su-30MKI.
During the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965, the Indian and Pakistani Air Forces engaged in large-scale aerial combat for the first time. In the air war, which took place in September, both air forces conducted thousands of defensive and offensive sorties over Indian and Pakistani airspace. Both India and Pakistan claimed victory in the air war; Pakistan claimed to have destroyed 104 Indian aircraft and lost 19, and India claimed to have destroyed 73 Pakistani aircraft and lost 35 of its own. The air war ended in a stalemate.
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