Sirsa Air Force Station
Sirsa Air Force Station ![]() Sirsa Vayu Sena Chhawni | |||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Military | ||||||||||
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″N 75°00′21″E / 29.56167°N 75.00583°E | ||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
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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]
History
[edit]1971 Indo-Pak war
[edit]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.
Units
[edit]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.[5][6]
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.[7]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b World Airport Codes.
- ^ "Air Force Day Fly Past an Appeal". PIB, Ministry of Defence. 26 September 2006.
- ^ Om Prakash Maurya, 2017, Babu Jagjivan Ram.
- ^ A.S. Ahluwalia, 2012, [ Airborne to Chairborne: Memoirs of a War Veteran Aviator-Lawyer of the India Air Force].
- ^ "Indian Air Force to raise four more squadrons of Su-30 MKI fighter". 5 October 2012.
- ^ "IAF's top guns brave extreme Alaska". 11 May 2016.
- ^ No. 3 Squadron, Indian Air Force Bharat Rakshak
External links
[edit]- Video of the Surya Kiran Aerobatics Team (SKAT) during the Air Show at Sirsa Air Force Station.