NEW DELHI: The Commanding Officer (CO) of the 1st Rafale Fighter Squadron at the IAF has been suddenly transferred to the campus Eastern Air Command (EAC) in Shillong, in a movement that has raised the eyebrows within the force.
Group Captain Harkirat Singh he will be replaced by Group Captain Rohit Kataria as CO of Squadron 17 ‘Golden Arrows’ at Ambala air base, according to the order issued by the IAF on Wednesday, the sources said.
“It is very unusual for a CO from a fighter squadron to be transferred within six to seven months after the addition of the new aircraft, and also the Rafale, to the IAF. Also, Squad 17 only has 11 of its full complement of 18 Rafales so far, ”said an officer.
Within hours of TOI sending a questionnaire to IAF headquarters regarding the sudden transfer of Captain Singh Group, the force declared that the second Rafale squad would meet at Hasimara Air Base (West Bengal) at the EAC in the middle of April.
The IAF maintained that the Singh Group Captain’s position at the EAC was “part of a regular change” in force, emphasizing that the officer’s experience with the Rafale induction at Ambala is planned to be used for a similar induction in EAC.
Falcons 101 Squadron at Hasimara Air Base is scheduled to source the second batch of 18 Rafales under the Rs 59,000 crore deal signed with France for 36 of the omnidirectional jets in September 2016, as previously reported by TOI.
Group captain Singh, by the way, was awarded the nation’s third highest peacetime gallantry medal, the Shaurya Chakra, for displaying exceptional courage when landing a MiG-21 ‘Bison’ despite critical emergence from “a damaged engine” during a practice intercept sortie September 2008.
Group Captain Singh had led Rafale’s “core” induction team of pilots, flight engineers and technicians in France. Group captains Singh and Kataria were also among the pilots who had flown the first five Rafales to Ambala in July last year. The Rafales were formally inducted into the IAF at a ceremony in Ambala the following September.
Since then, 11 of the 36 Rafales have arrived in India, with another batch scheduled to land next month. All 36 will be delivered in April 2022.
The 4.5-generation Rafales, which have a combat range of 780 km to 1,650 km depending on the nature of the mission without air refueling, have added a much-needed offensive strike to the IAF.
The Rafales, which can also drop nuclear bombs, are armed with long-range weapons such as ‘Scalp’ air-to-ground cruise missiles with a range of over 300 km. -air missiles, which with an attack range of 120 to 150 km can surpass any missile that can currently be launched by Pakistani or Chinese aircraft.
The IAF has also ordered “Hammer” precision guided air-to-ground munitions for the Rafale, in an agreement that came last year amid the ongoing military confrontation with China in the east. Ladakh.
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