No. 23 Squadron IAF

No. 23 Squadron
Active	1957 - Present
Country	Republic of India
Branch	Indian Air Force
Role	Fighter
Garrison/HQ	AFS NAL
Nickname(s)	"Panthers"
Motto(s)	Amritham Abhayam Immortal and Fearless
Aircraft flown
Fighter	MiG-21 Bison

No. 23 Squadron (Panthers) is a fighter squadron and is equipped with MiG-21Bison and based at AFS NAL. ^{[1] [2]}

History

The squadron was raised in the year 1956 and it became the first squadron in Indian Air Force to be commissioned with Folland Gnat. ^[3]

The squadron was relocated to AFS NAL in June 2024 and will be in use with its sister squadron No. 3 Squadron. The move was done to streamline the maintenance and operability of the MiG-21. Both the squadrons will transition to the newly ordered Tejas Mk1A. ^[2]

While the Indian Air Force officially retires the MiG-21 Bison from active service, an official farewell ceremony is expected to be held at Chandigarh Air Force Station on 19 September 2025. The last of the aircraft are from this squadron. ^[4]

Assignments

• Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 ^[5]
• Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

Aircraft

Aircraft	From	To	Air Base
de Havilland Vampire	November 1956	January 1960
Folland Gnat	February 1960	January 1978
MiG-21 bis	February 1978	July 2005
MiG-21 Bison	July 2005	June 2024	AFS Suratgarh
	June 2024	Present	AFS NAL

References

1. "Squadrons and Helicopter Units". Bharat Rakshak. Archived from the original on 14 April 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
2. Singh, Rahul (28 June 2024). "IAF relocates MiG-21s to Nal base as it prepares to replace the fleet". Hindustan Times.
3. @IAF_MCC (1 October 2020). "No 23 Sqn 'Panthers' raised in the year 1956, went on to become the first 'Gnat' squadron of IAF. The Sqn in 196 5War achieved its first aerial kill & earned the title SabreSlayers" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
4. Pubby, Manu (22 July 2025). "From warhorse to legend: MiG-21 to bow out after 62 years in Indian skies". The Economic Times. ISSN   0013-0389 . Retrieved 22 July 2025.
5. "How-Indian-Air-Force-Came-of-Age-in-1965". New Ind Express. Archived from the original on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.