Pune: The foundation stone of Indian Air Force was laid on 8 October 1932, 88 years ago. Today, this day is celebrated as IAF Day – Indian Air Force Day. The Air Force initially had four Westland returning biplanes and five Indian pilots. Today the Indian Air Force fleet has more than 1720 aircraft and over 1.70 lakh airmen. The IAF has fought many battles, accompanied Indian Army in the war time as well as during the humanitarian crisis. Here are few invincible achievements of IAF.
· In the Second World War, when the Japanese army was moving towards Burma, it was stopped by the Indian Air Force. Indian Air Force had killed the Japanese forces at Arakan, Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai bases in Thailand. The Indian Air Force was assisting the British and American forces in this war. Flight Lieutenant Arjan Singh was the hero of this war who later became Air Force Marshal.
· 1947: When the country was liberated, the Air Force engaged in relief work- India and Pakistan separated during the independence of the country. The Air Force also split into two. At the same time the monarchy of Jammu and Kashmir was attacked by tribal invaders. These tribal attackers had the support of Pakistan. When the Kashmiri people were trapped, the Indian Air Force helped evacuate them.
· 1960-61: established peace in Congo, gave independence to Goa- Belgian rule ended in Congo in 1960. After this, violence and rebellion took place throughout the Congo. To prevent this, the Indian Air Force sent five squadron to Congo so that peace could be established. Subsequently, in 1961 the Portuguese regime did not want to leave Goa, and then the Indian Air Force carried out Operation Vijay. The Indian Air Force defeated the Portuguese Army and brought Goa independence and merged it with India.
· 1965: Flattened Pakistani force- After 1947, the Pakistan Army has made a second attack to capture Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian Air Force not only shot down its fighters, but also demolished many military bases. The Indian Air Force also suffered a lot, but our brave jawans blew away Pakistan.
· 1971: Surrendered Pak Army for Bangladesh’s independence- 49 years ago, 93,000 members of the Pakistani Army raised white flags and surrendered to the Indian Army and the Mukti Corps, ending the 1971 Indo-Pak War. The conflict was the result of the Bangladesh War of Independence, when Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) was fighting the freedom struggle from Pakistan (West).
· The Indian Air Force played an important role in liberating Bangladesh from Pakistan. Indian Air Force aircraft flew over 12,000 flights over Bangladesh. Pakistan had attacked India through Rajasthan, Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir. Battle of Longewala took place. The Indian Air Force killed 94 aircraft from Pakistan in this battle.
· 1984: Operation Meghdoot – On 13 April 1984, with the help of Indian Air Force, the Indian Army launched Operation Meghdoot and attacked Siachen. After this, the entire Siachen Glacier came under the occupation of India. The advantage was that India has control over 3000 sq km in this strategic area.
· 1987: Operation Poomlai carried out during civil war in Sri Lanka- Civil war was going on in Sri Lanka due to Tamil rebels. The Sri Lankan government sought help from India. After this, Indian Air Force carried out Operation Poomlai. This year Operation Pawan was launched to evacuate one lakh Sri Lankan security forces from the struggling northern and eastern Sri Lanka. For this, Indian Air Force aircraft had taken 70 thousand flights.
· 1988: Prevents attack on Maldives, establishes peace- On 3 November 1988, the Indian Air Force landed four Mirage fighter jets and IL-76s from Agra to Maldives capital Male. The President Gayoom sought help as the country was occupied by armed criminals. They want to attack Male. To prevent this, paratroopers of the Indian Air Force secured the Male Airport and killed the attackers. The name of this mission was – Operation Cactus.
· 2019: Terrorist camps demolished in Balakot- The Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist organization carried out a suicide attack on 14 February 2019 in Pulwama. 46 CRPF personnel were martyred. After this, the Indian Air Force attacked Pakistan’s militant camps in Balakot, Chakothi, Muzaffarabad of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) within 15 days from 12 Mirage-2000 fighter planes.
· When Abhinandan shot down Pakistan’s F-16 from MiG-21- On 27 February 2019, the Indian Air Force saw Pakistani Air Force F-16 and JF-17 fighter jets crossing the Indian border. Immediately the Indian Air Force’s Sukhoi-30 MKI and MiG-21 drove them. The MiG-21 was flown by Wing Commander. They shot down the F-16 with a MiG-21 missile.