Military

Hindan Air Station
Ghaziabad, New Delhi

Hindan Air Station (also Hindon), located in Ghaziabad just northwest of New Delhi, is the probable location for nuclear-capable MiG-27 aircraft. Squadrons 2, 9, and 18 at Hindan operated over four dozen MiG-27ML, some of which may be specially modified to carry nuclear bombs. Hindan Air Station is served by a 9,100 foot long runway.

The construction of beddown infrastructure facilities for the C-17 aircraft ordered by the Indian Air Force at its Hindon Air Force Station in Ghaziabad is on schedule, a top US military official has said. The beddown infrastructure facilities for the 10 C-17 heavy lift transport aircraft is being built at Hindon Air Force base by the US Army Corp of Engineers at an estimated cost of USD 21 million."

The Defence Minister Mr Manohar Parrikar, familiarised himself at Air Force Station Hindan in January 2015 , with the operations being carried out by the C-17 'Globemaster III' and the C-130 J 'Super Hercules'- the two most modern transport aircraft in the inventory of the Indian Air Force. He was accompanied by the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha and the Air Officer Commanding in Chief of the Western Air Command, Air Marshal SS Soman. On his arrival at Hindan, the Minister was briefed by Air Marshal SS Soman on the role for which both these aircraft are being employed and their potential for employment in various contingencies. This was followed by a tour of the flight complex and a visit to the special equipment bay.

The Minister was also provided an on-site familiarization of both the aeroplanes followed by a visit to the C-130 J simulator wherein he gained first-hand experience of flying the C-130 J along with Group Captain Tejbir Singh, Commanding Officer of 77 Squadron. Mr Parrikar also had a 'Windshield tour' of the C-17 where he was familiarized with the on-board equipment and instrumentation by Group Captain BS Reddy, Commanding Officer of 81 Squadron.

77 Squadron had created history and a world record when the C-130J was landed at the treacherous Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) in Ladakh sector at an altitude of 16614 ft on August 20, 2013. The squadron specializes in undertaking a gamut of diverse roles including insertion and quick deployment of special forces, air drop and air landed operations in hostile areas and other combat support roles. The Super Hercules was used extensively during the flood relief operations in Uttarakhand – the aircraft landed at Dharasu to supply fuel to helicopters involved in rescue and relief ops. The Globemaster is presently used for carrying out routine missions and special missions to high altitude airfields at Leh and Thoise. 81 Squadron provided succour and relief to the flood affected people of Jammu and Kashmir by transporting relief material and passengers. The recent use of the Globemaster-III to transport drinking water to Maldives demonstrated the government's approach to helping friendly foreign nations in times of crisis, by the use of airpower.

Hon’ble Defence Minister of Japan, Mr Kono Taro, visited Indian Air Force Base at Hindan 30 November 2019. He is on a two day bilateral visit to India. The Japanese Defence Minister and accompanying delegation were received by Air Marshal D Choudhury AVSM VM VSM, Senior Air Staff Officer of Western Air Command and Air Commodore R Talwar, Air Officer Commanding, Air Force Station Hindan. During his visit the Minister was given an overview about the Indian Air Force organisational structure and operational capability of the IAF. He was also given a brief about the station, its operational role & assets available at base.

Hindon airport belongs to the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has developed the civil enclave there. According to the AAI, the civil enclave, which cost around Rs 40 crore, can handle 300 passengers during peak hours. On 08 March 2019, the PM Modi inaugurated the new civil enclave at Hindon airport in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu.

The civilian terminal of the Hindon airport will see the beginning of commercial flight operations, under the Ude Desh ke Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme, from April 2019. The UDAN connectivity scheme seeks to connect the farthest corners of the country through flights at an affordable cost. Air travellers from Delhi, Noida, and Ghaziabad can board flights from Ghaziabad itself, instead of going to Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport, which is one the busiest aerodrome in the country.

Due to the large scale prevalence of Corona Virus around the world, Indian citizens who were in countries like China (Wuhan) and Iran were evacuated by Indian Air Force C-17 aircraft on two occasions. On the second occasion, a total of 57 pilgrims from Ladakh region who had visited Quom, Iran for pilgrimage, were brought by C-17 aircraft on 10 March 2020 to Air Force Station Hindan. These consisted of 33 women, 02 children and 22 men.

A quarantine facility has been established at AF Stn Hindan for these pilgrims which has all required facilities for rest and recuperation. The administrative arrangements (identification of buildings, perimeter security, food and water supply, bed and linen, laundry, housekeeping, entertainment, sewage disposal, transportation etc) has been organized at the camp and the medical support (daily examination, lab testing, advise on disinfection and bio-medical waste management, public health measures, management of symptomatic patients, surveillance, creation and referral to isolation wards at nearest hospital) has been organized by Indian Air Force authorities in liaison with local civil administration. The detailed protocols for patient transportation and referral to nearest designated / identified isolation ward of service / civil hospitals has been kept ready.

The government of India decided to fly a special IAF C-17 Globemaster at 8 pm IST to the Iranian capital city of Tehran on Monday. A military transport aircraft, the C-17 Globemaster is being used to evacuate Indians stranded in coronavirus-affected Iran. At present, there are about 2,000 Indians living in Iran. The aircraft took flight from Hindon Airport in Ghaziabad. A medical team and support staff is onboard the flight. It returned with evacuated Indians on 20 March 2020.

Imagery of the Hinden Air Statione
Click on the small image to view a larger version
Overview of South Asia with India in the center	CIA Map of India
Tactical Pilotage Chart of Hinden Airbase in relation to Northern India.	Tactical Pilotage Chart of Hinden Airbase.
Ikonos Browse imagery of Hindan Air Station as of 16 November 2001	Hindan Air Station is served by a 9,100 foot long runway.