Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Raising a toast to that Day

Staff Reporter

The then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi inaugurating the Southern Air Command headquarters at Belhaven Palace near Kowdiar on July 20, 1984.

Thiruvananthapuram: The Southern Air Command (SAC) will celebrate its 23rd Raising Day on Friday. The day commemorates the inauguration of the SAC by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on July 20, 1984.

An aerobatic display by Hunter fighter aircraft of the ‘Thunderbolts’, the first aerobatic display team of the Air Force, had triggered public demand for an IAF establishment in the city in the early 1980s.

The popular sentiment prompted the Central Government to locate the SAC headquarters in the city. Air Marshal Terence J Dee’s was the first Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the SAC. The command was first headquartered at the Belhaven Palace near Kowdiar. It shifted to its present headquarters at Aakulam on August 8, 1996.

The SAC pilots earned their first battle honours in Operation Pawan launched by the Indian Peace Keeping Force against Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) positions in Jaffna.

Braving heavy enemy fire, the helicopter pilots landed a detachment of the Indian Para Commandos and Sikh Light Infantry at Jaffna University, the tactical headquarters of the LTTE, on the night of October 12. The Indian Army suffered heavy losses in the commando raid.

The SAC was awarded 8 Veer Chakras and 3 Vayu Sena medals for their gallantry.

The SAC also played a major role in supporting IPKF operations in Sri Lanka, ‘Operation Cactus’ against mercenaries who attempted to take over Maldives and relief and rescue operations in the wake of the Tsunami in 2004. The command is in for a major expansion with the stationing of two fighter squadrons at its upcoming base in Thanjavoor. Air Marshal YR Rane is currently the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the SAC.

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