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PTS (Paratroopers Training School) is a school in Agra, Uttar Pradesh for the training of paratroopers in the Indian Army. PTS was founded in Agra in 1948.
In October, 1941, the 50th Indian Parachute Brigade was formed at Delhi. At the same time, the Air Landing School, the predecessor to PTS, was established at Willingdon Airport in New Delhi. Lt AG Rangaraj, IMS and Havaldar Major Mathura Singh of 152 (Indian) Parachute Battalion became the first Indians to be trained and jump.
In 1942, the Air Landing School was renamed No 3 PTS, AF and moved to Chaklala in what is today Pakistan. In 1944 Dakota, Valencia Hudson Wellington and Halifax aircraft were used to transport the paratroopers.
The Partition of India led to the Indian element of PJIs under Sqn Ldr TS Gopalan moving to Agra and the creation of the current school facility. [1]
Sqn Ldr M Vanian and Flt Lt P Venugopal of PTS have awarded Shaurya Chakra.[ citation needed ]
Surya Kiran is an aerobatics demonstration team of the Indian Air Force. The Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) was formed in 1996 and are a part of the 52nd Squadron of the IAF. The team has since performed numerous demonstrations usually with nine aircraft. The squadron was composed of the HAL HJT-16 Kiran Mk.2 military trainer aircraft till 2011 and were based at the Bidar Air Force Station in Karnataka. The team was suspended in February 2011 and was re-established with Hawk Mk-132 aircraft in 2017.
No. 303 Squadron RAF, also known as the 303rd "Tadeusz Kościuszko Warsaw" Fighter Squadron, was one of two Polish squadrons that fought during the Battle of Britain along with No. 302 Squadron, of 16 total Polish squadrons in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. Flying Hawker Hurricanes, the squadron claimed the largest number of aircraft shot down of the 126 Allied fighter squadrons engaged in the Battle of Britain, even though it joined the fray two months after the battle had begun.
Number 31 Squadron, known as the Goldstars, was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. The Squadron lays claim to being the first military unit to fly in India, where it was based from 1915 to 1947. Throughout the Cold War, No. 31 Squadron was based in West Germany, flying from RAF Laarbruch and RAF Brüggen. Between September 1984 and March 2019, the Goldstars operated the Panavia Tornado GR1/4, initially from RAF Brüggen and after August 2001 from RAF Marham, Norfolk. No. 31 Squadron was disbanded on 14 March 2019 at RAF Marham and will reform in 2022 at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire, eventually operating the General Atomics Protector RG1 by 2024.
Sqn Ldr Ajay AhujaVrC was a fighter pilot of the Indian Air Force who was killed during the Kargil War between India and Pakistan in 1999. His MiG-21 was hit by a surface-to-air missile fired by the Pakistan Army near the town of Kargil in the Indian territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Ajay Ahuja ejected from the aircraft and parachuted to the ground. According to Indian claims, Ahuja was alive upon his landing before he was captured and subsequently killed by Pakistani troops; these claims have been rejected by Pakistan. A post-mortem report conducted on Ahuja's body after it was recovered and returned to India showed that he had a fractured knee alongside two fatal bullet wounds to his head and chest. Reports by the Indian media of Ahuja's capture and killing by Pakistani troops during the conflict sparked a major uproar within India.
Para , also known as Para SF, are a group of special forces battalions of the Parachute Regiment in the Indian Army. These units specialize in various roles including hostage rescue, counter-terrorism, unconventional warfare, special reconnaissance, foreign internal defence, counter-proliferation, counter-insurgency, seek and destroy and personnel recovery.
The Garud Commando Force is the special forces unit of the Indian Air Force. It was formed in September 2004 and has a current strength of over 1500 personnel. The unit derives its name from Garuda, a divine bird-like creature in Hindu culture.
No. 7 Squadron, Indian Air Force operates as a Special Munitions Delivery and air superiority unit. Based at Gwalior AFB, No.7 Squadron forms a part of 40 Wing AF, Central Air Command.
The Tangail Airdrop was a successful battalion-size Para Commandos (India) operation mounted on 11 December 1971 by the 2nd Battalion of the Indian Army's Parachute Regiment and the 49 Squadron of the Indian Air Force during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 for the liberation of Bangladesh. The main objective of the operation was the capture of Poongli Bridge on the Jamuna River which would cut off the Pakistani 93rd Brigade which was retreating from Mymensingh in the north to defend the capital of East Pakistan, Dacca, and its approaches. The paratroop unit was also tasked to link up with the advancing Maratha Light Infantry on the ground to advance towards the East Pakistani capital.
The Vayu Sena Medal is a military decoration, usually awarded in peacetime for a job well done in the Indian Air Force. However, it has been granted during times of conflict for acts of gallantry in the face of enemy, though not in the same numbers as the Vir Chakra.
The No.3 Squadron (Cobras) of the Indian Air Force (IAF) operates as a Close Air Support (CAS) and reconnaissance unit. Currently based at Pathankot Air Force Station, No. 3 Sqn falls under the Western Air Command, and alongside the No. 26 Sqn (Warriors), No. 104HU and No.125HU (Gladiators), forms the 18 wing of the IAF.
Operation Chengiz Khan was the code name assigned to the preemptive strikes carried out by the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) on the forward airbases and radar installations of the Indian Air Force (IAF) on the evening of 3 December 1971, and marked the formal initiation of hostilities of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The operation targeted 11 of India's airfields and also included artillery strikes on Indian positions in Kashmir. The targets were the Indian Airbases of Amritsar, Ambala, Agra, Awantipur, Bikaner, Halwara, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Pathankot, Bhuj, Srinagar and Uttarlai and air defence radars at Amritsar and Faridkot.
The Jaffna University Helidrop was the first of the operations launched by the Indian Peace Keeping Forces (IPKF) aimed at disarming the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) by force and capturing the town of Jaffna, Sri Lanka, in the opening stages of Operation Pawan during the active Indian mediation in the Sri Lankan Civil War. Mounted on the midnight of 12 October 1987, the operation was planned as a fast heliborne assault involving Mi-8's of the No.109 HU, the 10th Para Commandos and a contingent of the 13th Sikh LI. The aim of the operation was to capture the LTTE leadership at Jaffna University building which served as the Tactical Headquarters of the LTTE, which was expected to shorten Operation Pawan, the battle for Jaffna. However, the operation ended disastrously, failing to capture its objectives due to intelligence and planning failures. The helidropped force suffered significant casualties, with nearly the entire Sikh LI detachment of twenty-nine troops, along with six paracommandos, falling in battle.
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 saw the Indian and Pakistani Air Forces engaged in large-scale aerial combat against each other for the first time since the Partition of India in 1947. The war took place during the course of September 1965 and saw both air forces conduct defensive and offensive operations over Indian and Pakistani airspace. The aerial war saw both sides conducting thousands of sorties in a single month. Both sides claimed victory in the air war; Pakistan claimed to have destroyed 104 enemy aircraft against its own losses of 19, while India claimed to have destroyed 73 enemy aircraft and lost 35 of its own. Despite the intense fighting, the conflict was effectively a stalemate.
Wing Commander Trevor Keelor, VrC, VM was an officer of Indian Air Force who participated in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. He was honoured with a number of medals including the Vir Chakra and the Vayu Sena Medal. He had an elder brother, Denzil, who was also honoured for his service in the Indian Air Force. Both brothers have a Vir Chakra for the same feat of shooting down Pakistan Air Force F-86 Sabre fighters. It was the first time two brothers have received Vir Chakras for the same reason.
Sherdils is the aerobatics display team of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) & Royal Pakistan Air Scouts (RPAS). The Sherdils are based at the Pakistan Air Force Academy, Risalpur, Pakistan and consist of nine Karakoram K-8P aircraft.
No. 2 Fighter Sector (2FS) was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) unit formed at New Lambton, Newcastle, New South Wales on 25 February 1942. No. 2 Fighter Sector was responsible for fighter aircraft control and coordination for the Newcastle and Hunter Region.
The Airborne Delivery Wing is a Royal Air Force training unit that provides parachute training to all three British Armed Forces. It is based at RAF Brize Norton. in Oxfordshire.
No. 24 Squadron, named the Blinders, is an electronic warfare unit of the Pakistan Air Force.
Rachel Thomas is an Indian skydiver. She was the first Indian woman to skydive from 7,000 ft over the North Pole on 20 April 2002, to commemorate 150 years of the Indian Railways.
No. 47 Squadron is a fighter squadron and is equipped with MiG-29UPG and based at Adampur Air Force Station.