No. 87 Squadron of Indian Air Force is located at Panagarh Air Force Station and is assigned to Eastern Air Command. The tactical-aircraft squadron is used for special forces and also for Indian Army's new XVII Mountain Strike Corps located at Panagarh.
| No. 87 Squadron | |
|---|---|
 An Indian Air Force C-130J | |
| Active | 6 May 2016 - Present |
| Country | India |
| Role | Special Air Operations |
| Garrison/HQ | Panagarh AFS |
| Nickname(s) | "Raiding Raptors"[1] |
| Motto(s) | Wings of Valor[2] |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Transport | C-130J Super Hercules |
History
editInitially, two C-130Js from No. 77 Squadron, Hindon AFS operated from Panagarh since its inauguration in May 2016, till the new Super Hercules arrived next year.[3] The first two C-130J Super Hercules landed in July 2017.[4] A month later in August 2017, remaining four aircraft arrived at the base with IAF commissioning the air base as Air Force Station Arjan Singh.[5][6]
Lineage
edit- Constituted as No. 87 Squadron on 6 May 2016.
Aircraft
editReferences
edit- ^ "Super Hercules can play vital role in conflicts: IAF". 7 October 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
- ^ ANI [@ANI] (3 October 2019). "Air Force Station Arjan Singh conducted Swachh Bharat campaign yesterday. Air Cmde D Vedajna inaugurated the campaign & handed over campaign flag to Wg Cdr Gajanand Yadava who undertook a skydive jump with the flag from 15,000 feet above the ground. https://t.co/xsJc20FXid" (Tweet). Retrieved 9 January 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Panagarh gets two Super Hercules from Hindon till arrival of new aircraft". The Times of India. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 19 Feb 2017.
- ^ "C-130Js arrive in Bengal IAF station". The Hindu. 27 July 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
- ^ "IAF strengthens eastern base with six Super Hercules jets in Panagarh". 24 August 2017.
- ^ "Amid Doklam row with China, IAF commissions new Super Hercules base in the east". 24 August 2017.