Canberra to bid adieu to IAF

Chandigarh, Mar 5 (UNI) Canberra, the oldest fighter aircraft in the Indian Air Force fleet, would soon be grounded after it served the country for about six decades.

''Canberras will be put to rest after the Presidential review of the the Indian Air Force on March seven,'' Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) Western Air Command Air Marshal Padamjit Singh Ahluwalia told reporters here today after a full dress rehearsal for the Presidential review.

Canberra, which was inducted in the IAF in the 1950s, had been used in various wars and counter-insurgency operations, he said.

At present, the IAF had a full squadron of Canberras, which were used in counter-insurgency operations in the Northeast. The aircrfat had also been used for surveillance in Jammu and Kashmir also.

The aircraft, he said, was being grounded as the requirements of the IAF had changed with the consistent change and upgradation in aircraft technology.

MORE UNI