MilMat: President's Standard awarded to 115 Helicopter Unit & 26 Squadron

Bengaluru, Nov 21: President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday awarded the prestigious President's Standard to 115 Helicopter Unit and 26 Squadron at ceremonial parade held at Air Force Station Tezpur. The President's Standard is awarded to Operational Units based on their past record of performances and achievements during peace and hostilities.

The Commanding Officer of 115 Helicopter Unit, Wing Commander AP Deshpande and Commanding Officer of 26 Squadron, Wing Commander S Prabhu received the Standards. The Parade was commanded by Group Captain Vikram Gaur, Vishisht Seva Medal, Chief Operations Officer of Air Force Station Tezpur.

115 Helicopter Unit, raised on 01 Apr 1967, is endowed with a glorious history and a rich operational legacy. Its active participation in the Indo-Pak war of 1971 had won them many accolades.

26 Squadron (Warriors) was formed on 01 Jan 1968 at Adampur. The Warriors also played a very active role in the Indo-Pak war 1971 providing close air support to Indian Army. The Squadron actively participated in the Kargil conflict of 1999 and was responsible for guarding northern skies during Op Prakaram.

Twin-firing of Akash missiles a hit

The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Friday successfully test-fired 2 Akash missiles from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur. A DRDO Spokesperson said that the surface-to-air supersonic missiles were fired one after another by IAF men against moving pilotless-target vehicles.

"One had a direct hit, while another destroyed the target at a very a low altitude," the spokesperson said. "We are now geared up for a completely new set of production mandate," the official said.

Navy Fest 2014 at SNC, Kochi

The Indian Navy is gearing up for the Navy Day (December 4) celebrations. Navy Fest 2014 - an annual fair held in connection with Navy Day was formally inaugurated at Southern Naval Command (SNC) in Kochi todfay. Vice Admiral S P S Cheema, Flag Officer Commanding in Chief, SNC inaugurated the fair.

Five warships and two sail training ships present at Kochi have opened their gangways to the public on the occasion. The Naval Air Station, INS Garuda would also welcome visitors where Navy aircraft is kept on display for the public to see at close proximity.

The Navy Fest has 27 stalls including 10 professional stalls by various departments of Southern Naval Command These include the stalls of various training schools such as Navigation & Direction, Anti-Submarine warfare etc. based at Kochi as well as Naval Ship Repair Yard, the Naval Aircraft Yard and the Naval Armament Depot. The Navy Fest will welcome visitors every day from 10 am to 5 pm till November 23.

IAF Chief on a 4-day visit to Indonesia

IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha is proceeding on a four-day Counter Part Visit (CPV) to Indonesia from November 23, 2014. During his visit he will meet Air Chief Marshal Bagus Putu Dunia, Chief of Staff Indonesian Air Force at the Air Headquarters where he will be extended a ceremonial reception. He will also call on the Minister of Defence, General (Retd) Ryamizard Ryacudu and discuss bilateral issues.

Raha will be visiting air force bases at Halim, Bandung and Bali. A visit is planned to PT Dirgantara, which is one of the indigenous aerospace companies in Asia with core competence in aircraft design and development, an IAF spokesperson said.

[MilMat or Military Matters will bring to you aerospace and defence happenings in brief on a regular basis. MilMat is compiled by OneIndia Defence Desk.]