Bareilly Airforce Base
Bareilly had been the location for the Air Force Base established under Central Air Command in the mid 60s. It had always housed the most secretive of the aircraft of the IAF - starting with the Sukhoi-7s, the EW Squadron with MiG-21Ms and Canberras and finally the No.102 Squadron Trisonics, flying the MiG-25Rs. Bareilly Air Force Station is also known as Bareilly Airport or Trishul Air Base. This airport is both military airbase and public airport which serves the city of Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh.
The air force station is one of the largest airbases of the Indian air forces (IAF). This air base is considered as a part of Central Air Command which has a regiment of State of the art fighters which includes Sukhois and the helicopter squadrons. Sukhois and the helicopter squadrons have numbers of major settlements of the Indian Army's regimental which is the headquarters of Jat Regiment. Bareli airport is properly connected with all the major and minor cities in India. This airport is linked with many airlines in india such as Jet Airways, Kingfisher, Indian Airlines and many others.
Situated on the bank of river Ramganga, Bareilly has been the centre of cultural & educational activities in the state of Uttar Pradesh in North India. Bareilly was established in 1537. It was earlier known as Jagatpur, having being founded by Jagat Singh Katerhriya. It was often called “Bans Bareilly” because of the fine Bamboo Craft. The city is a major hub for its special Handicraft popularly known as “Zari – Zardozi”, which is a form of embroidery. This is one of the oldest traditions of the Bareilly District. Bareilly is the largest producer and exporter of Camphor in India. Apart from this, Bareilly is famous for Surma (Collyrium) The 117 Helicopter Unit, or the Himalayan Dragons, was raised on February 1, 1971, at Air Force Station, Bareilly. The unit gained its initial experience in the India-Pakistan War of 1971, in the Eastern theatre. It moved to Hasimara in 1983 and flew extensive air maintenance and casualty evacuation missions in the Northeast. The unit moved to its present location, Air Force Station Sarsawa, in January 1988.
IAF’s only Mig-25 Squadron, christened – Trisonics, was based at Bareilly. The MiG-25 that held the world altitude record of 123524 ft, which is more than three times the maximum altitude of an airliner, was phased out from the Indian Air Force on 01 May 06 after their last ceremonial flight from Bareilly.
An IAF contingent of 230 Air Warriors was flagged off from Air Force station, Bareilly by Air Marshal S Varthaman, Senior Air Staff Officer, Central Air Command at a formal ceremony on 07 June 2010. The IAF contingent would be taking part in exercise Garuda at Istres Air Base, France.
The IAF assets include six Sukhoi - 30 MKIs air dominance fighter aircraft, three Ilushin - 78 flight refueller aircraft and one Ilushin 76 heavy lift transport aircraft. The SU-30 MKIs took part in an exercise in France for the first time. Earlier SU-30 KAs had participated. Also a team of Garud Special Forces took part in exercise Garuda for the first time.
Addressing the contingent members at the flagging off ceremony, Air Marshal Varthaman said: “Indeed it is a proud and privileged honour to bid the team good flying and happy landings. We have prepared well for the last six to eight months and I am sure you will excel with your professionalism. So fly safe, fly well, make friends, win hearts and touch the sky with glory.”
In the exercise Garuda the French Air Force had in their assets Mirage 2000s and Rafael aircraft. Republic of Singapore Air Force participated with their F-16 Block 52 aircraft. Gp Capt J Mishra has been the team leader of the IAF contingent Gp Capt NN Sinha of IAF has been the exercise Director. A joint exercise of this nature enhances mutual operational understanding. It also refines the procedural aspects and provides for tremendous learning experience for all the participating Air Forces. It also enables the operators to understand each other's capability. Exercise Garuda continues to enhance and cement the close military ties between the Indian and the French Air Forces.
Air Force station, Bareilly, witnessed the induction of the first batch of ALH MK-III in the IAF in March 2012. Air Marshal PS Gill, Senior Air Staff Officer, Central Air Command, Allahabad presided the induction ceremony. The MK-III version of the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) is a light multirole and multi-mission helicopter with a full glass cockpit.
The helicopter, manufactured by HAL, differs from the previous version of 'Dhruv' in terms of the more powerful 'Shakti' engines, full glass cockpit and the integrated electronic warfare (EW) suite. A fine display of ALH helicopters by Wg Cdr KS Kakade, Commanding Officer of the 111 Helicopter Unit along with five other pilots marked the induction ceremony. The ALH MK-III is being inducted in 111 Helicopter Unit which was operating with Chetak and Cheetah helicopters.
Air Marshal Kulwant Singh Gill, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Central Air Command arrived at Air Force Station Bareilly on July 15, 2015 for a two day annual inspection visit. During his two day visit, Air Marshal KS Gill inspected various units and sections and interacted with the air warriors of Air Force Station Bareilly. He reviewed the operational, technical and administrative preparedness of the Air Base. The mechanical transport of the base was also displayed during the inspection. He also reviewed the operational environment by flying in SU-30 MK I aircraft along with the Commanding Officer of the Squadron. On July 16, 2015 the Air Marshal addressed a Hollow Square gathering of all the personnel of the station.
The proposed new civil enclave at Bareilly Airforce Base will be located close to Trishul Air force Base at Bareilly on 36.75 Acres of land transferred by state Govt. for new civil enclave will be permanently changed.
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