Sirsa Air Force Station

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Sirsa Air Force Station

Roundel of India.svg
Sirsa Vayu Sena Chhawni
Summary
Airport typeMilitary
Owner Indian Air Force
Operator Western Air Command
Location Sirsa, Haryana
Occupants No. 21 Squadron IAF
No. 15 Squadron IAF
Time zone IST (UTC+05:30)
Elevation  AMSL 198 m / 650 ft
Coordinates 29°33′42″N75°00′21″E / 29.56167°N 75.00583°E / 29.56167; 75.00583
Map
India Haryana location map.svg
Airplane silhouette.svg
VISX
Location of the airport in Haryana
India location map.svg
Airplane silhouette.svg
VISX
VISX (India)
Runways
Direction LengthSurface
mft
05/232,7308,956 Concrete / asphalt

Sirsa Air Force Station or Sirsa AFS (ICAO: VISX) is an Indian Air Force base under Western Air Command, located at Sirsa in the state of Haryana, India. [2]

Contents

History

In Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, Pakistan Air Force launched a pre-emptive raid on 12 airforce stations, [3] including Sirsa station, Faridkot Stations, Halwara Air Force Station, a few railway stations, Indian armour concentrations and other targets. However, this failed to cause any significant damage except pothole damage to the runway which was quickly repaired. [4] Dassault Mystère IV jets from Sirsa base pounded the Pakistan Army pitched against the Indian Army in the Battle of Sabuna Drain. Dassault Mystère also hit a train and destroyed 50 tanks on it between Okara and Sahiwal.

During the 2025 India-Pakistan conflict, the Pakistan Armed Forces claimed that they had targeted Sirsa airfield. [5] Debris of a Pakistani Fatah-II missile that was intercepted over Sirsa were found near the airfield, and Indian officials have stated that no damage occurred at the base. [6] [7] The missile is reportedly a Fatah-II ballistic missile that was blown up in the air. [8]

Units

It has No. 21 Squadron IAF of 45 Wing. Wing is an active air force combat formation. No. 15 Squadron IAF operating Su-30MKI is also based here. [9] [10]

Originally the base was home to a squadron each of MiG-23s single-engine fighters and MiG-27s single-engine ground-attack aircraft, of No. 21 Squadron IAF. [11]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 World Airport Codes.
  2. ↑ "Air Force Day Fly Past an Appeal". PIB, Ministry of Defence. 26 September 2006.
  3. ↑ Om Prakash Maurya, 2017, Babu Jagjivan Ram.
  4. ↑ A.S. Ahluwalia, 2012, [ Airborne to Chairborne: Memoirs of a War Veteran Aviator-Lawyer of the India Air Force].
  5. ↑ "India and Pakistan just stepped back from the brink of war. Here's how it unfolded". Dawn news. 12 May 2025.
  6. ↑ "Air strike attempt by Pakistan thwarted over Sirsa in Haryana". The Indian Express. 10 May 2025. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  7. ↑ "Panic in the skies, rumour on the ground: When a missile was intercepted over Sirsa". The Indian Express. 11 May 2025. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  8. ↑ "Fatah: The ballistic missile that Pakistan calls its pride blown into pieces in Indian skies". Firstpost. 10 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  9. ↑ "Indian Air Force to raise four more squadrons of Su-30 MKI fighter". 5 October 2012.
  10. ↑ "IAF's top guns brave extreme Alaska". 11 May 2016.
  11. ↑ No. 3 Squadron, Indian Air Force Archived 9 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine Bharat Rakshak
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