Ambala Air Force Station

The Ambala Air Force Station is an Air Force base situated north of the urban Ambala Cantt area in Haryana, India. The Ambala Air Force Station will be home to the first batch of Dassault Rafales that will be inducted to Indian Air Force.[2]

Ambala Air Force Station


Ambala Vayu Sena Chawani
Summary
Airport typeMilitary
OwnerIndian Air Force
OperatorWestern Air Command
ServesAmbala Cantonment
LocationAmbala, Haryana
OccupantsNo. 14 Squadron IAF
No. 5 Squadron IAF
No. 17 Squadron IAF
Time zoneIST (UTC+05:30)
Elevation AMSL275.2 m / 900 ft
Coordinates30°22′15″N 76°49′04″E
Map
VIAM
Location of airport in India
VIAM
VIAM (India)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
12/30 9,224 2,811 Concrete / Asphalt
N/A 5,808 1,770 Concrete / Asphalt

History
See also: Airports in Haryana, Aviation history of Haryana, Indian Air Force history, Civil Aviation History of India, World Aviation History, Aviation in India, and Haryana Institute of Civil Aviation

In 1919, first airstrip was built in Haryana when Ambala Air Force Station was established following the independence of India. It is also the home to the SEPECAT Jaguar of No. 5 Squadron IAF and No. 14 Squadron IAF, and aging MiG-21bis of No. 21 Squadron IAF.

In 1919, a Flying Instruction School (FIS) was formed here. In 1947, FIS Ambala was moved to Tambaram near Chennai in Tamil Nadu, at Tambaram Air Force Station.

Ambala air force station, considered one of the most strategically located bases of the IAF. The Indo-Pak border is around 220 km from there.

The Mirage fighters, that were used for the air strike, which happened on Feb 26, 2019 (in wake of Pulwama terror attack) took off from the Ambala air base, and the whole operation took 30 minutes.[3]

Assets

In 2018–19, Ambala Airforce station currently houses a squadron of SEPECAT Jaguar. From May 2020, the IAF will house the first batch of 36 latest Dassault Rafale fighter jets at Ambala Air Force Station and Hasimara Air Force Station.[4]

See also

References
  1. World Airport Codes.
  2. "Five Rafale jets leave for India: What happens next".
  3. "'Wait For Our Response,' Says Pak Army After India's Air Strikes". The Quint. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  4. "News18 Newsletter | All We Know So Far About India's Surgical Strike 2.0 on Pakistan". News18. Retrieved 26 February 2019.



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