No. 45 Squadron IAF

No. 45 Squadron Indian Air Force (Flying Daggers) is a Fighter Squadron internally based at Sulur AFS, Tamil Nadu.[1] The squadron operates the indigenous HAL Tejas fighter from 1 July 2016.[3] The squadron was initially based at Bangalore, Karnataka and later shifted to its main base in Sulur from 1 June, 2018.[1]

No. 45 Squadron
No.45 squadron patch
Active
  • 20 November 1959 – December 2002
  • 1 July 2016 – present
Country Republic of India
Branch Indian Air Force
RoleAir superiority
Precision Strike
Combat air patrol
Garrison/HQSulur AFS, Tamil Nadu[1]
Nickname(s)Flying Daggers
Motto(s)Ajithakshay
Invincible in the sky
EngagementsIndo-Pakistani War of 1965
Atlantique shootdown
Decorations
  • VSM P. K. Bundela (2000)
  • VSM V. S. Sharma (2000)
Commanders
Current
commander		Group Captain Samrath Dhankhar[2]
Aircraft flown
AttackHAL Tejas

History

The squadron was raised on 15 February 1957,[4] with de Havilland Vampires, as a Ground-Attack and Close Air Support unit. Later The Vampires were replaced by MiG-21Bison. The MiGs which were operated from Naliya were withdrawn from squadron service in 2002. It is the first operational squadron of the indigenous fighter jet HAL Tejas.[3] The squadron operated from HAL Airport[5], Bangalore for nearly two years before it moved to its designated locations at Sulur near Coimbatore.[6] It is also the first fighter squadron to be part of the Southern Air Command of IAF headquarters at Thiruvananthapuram. Group Captain Madhav Rangachari is the first commanding officer and Sqn Ldr Devdeep Ghosh is the first squadron doctor of the Tejas squadron.

Indo-Pakistan War of 1965

On 1 September 1965, during the Indo-Pakistani War, No. 45 Squadron IAF responded to a request for strikes against a counter-attack by the Pakistan Army (Operation Grand Slam), and twelve Vampire Mk 52 fighter-bombers were successful in slowing the Pakistani advance. However, the Vampires encountered two Pakistan Air Force (PAF) F-86 Sabres, armed with air-to-air missiles; in the ensuing dogfight, the outdated Vampires were outclassed. One was shot down by ground fire and another three were shot down by Sabres.[7][8] The Vampires were withdrawn from front line service after these losses.

Atlantique incident

Indian Air Force No.45 Squadron was involved in the Atlantique incident on 10 August 1999. Two MiG-21 Bison from No.45 Squadron IAF intercepted and shot down a Pakistan Air Force naval reconnaissance plane.[9][10]

Assignments

Aircraft

Aircraft types operated by the squadron[11]

Aircraft TypeFromToAir Base
de Havilland Vampire20 November 1959February 1965Palam AFS[12]
Mig-21 FLFebruary 1966July 1973Chandigarh AFS[12]
Mig-21 FLJuly 1973May 1978Bareilly AFS[12]
Mig-21 FLMay 1978April 1982Jamnagar AFS[12]
Mig-21 bisApril 1982December 2002Naliya AFS[13]
HAL Tejas Mk11 July 2016Till DateSulur AFS[14]

The squadron has 16 Tejas aircraft in currently in service.[15]

References
  1. "Tejas exits Bengaluru, new nest in TN's Sulur". 1 June 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  2. "IAF, HAL end impasse over Tejas trainers". ManormaOnline. 23 June 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  3. "HAL Tejas supersonic fighter jets inducted into Indian Air Force". The Times of India. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  4. "History of IAF". IAF. Archived from the original on 9 April 2009. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  5. "Tamil Nadu to build India's next generation defence aircraft". 18 May 2018.
  6. "IAF begins establishing first LCA squadron." Deccan Herald. Retrieved 1 July 2016. Archived 20 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Pakistani Air-to-Air Victories, Air Combat Information Group, 2003, archived from the original on 21 December 2012, retrieved 10 June 2009.
  8. (Retd), Air Marshal Trilochan Singh PVSM AVSM VrC VM. "Tank Busting In The Chamb - Bharat Rakshak:Indian Air Force". bharat-rakshak.com.
  9. "The Atlantique Incident". 1999 Kargil Operations. Bharat Rakshak Indian Air Force. Archived from the original on 2 February 2007. Retrieved 9 March 2007.
  10. IAF Scores a Kill !!! Factual Account of Interception Archived 22 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine – Indian Air Force official page Retrieved on 26 July 2007
  11. Pillarisetti, Jagan. "No.7 Squadron - Bharat Rakshak:Indian Air Force". bharat-rakshak.com.
  12. "'Flying Daggers' Fly Again". Vayu Aerospace. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  13. "No.45 Squadron Flying Daggers". Bharat Rakshak. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  14. "Breaking news: IAF getting ready to induct more Tejas LCA, 83 Mark 1A fighters in the pipeline | India News | Zee News". zeenews-india-com.cdn.ampproject.org. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  15. "Breaking news: IAF getting ready to induct more Tejas LCA, 83 Mark 1A fighters in the pipeline | India News | Zee News". zeenews-india-com.cdn.ampproject.org. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
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