Ambala Air Force Station | |||||||||
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| Ambala,Haryana in India | |||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||
| Type | Military airbase | ||||||||
| Owner | Ministry of Defence | ||||||||
| Operator | Indian Air Force | ||||||||
| Controlled by | Western Air Command | ||||||||
| Location | |||||||||
  Ambala AFS Shown within Haryana Show map of Haryana Ambala AFS Ambala AFS (India) Show map of India | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 30°22′15″N76°49′04″E / 30.37083°N 76.81778°E /30.37083; 76.81778 | ||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||
| Built | 1919 (1919) | ||||||||
| Built by | British Raj | ||||||||
| In use | 1919 - present | ||||||||
| Garrison information | |||||||||
| Garrison | 7 Wing | ||||||||
| Occupants | No. 14 Squadron IAF No. 5 Squadron IAF No. 17 Squadron IAF | ||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||
| Identifiers | ICAO: VIAM[1] | ||||||||
| Elevation | 275.2 metres (903 ft)AMSL | ||||||||
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TheAmbala Air Force Station (ICAO:VIAM) is an Indian Air Force base situated north of the urbanAmbala Cantt area inHaryana,India. The Ambala Air Force Station is the home to the first batch of advance multirole fighter jetDassault Rafales that have been inducted toIndian Air Force.[2]
In 1919 immediately after theFirst World War (1914-18), first airstrip was built in Haryana when RAF Ambala was created and aFlying Instruction School (FIS) was formed here.
On 1 April 1920,No. 28 Squadron RAF which was earlier disbanded in Britain in January 1920,[3][4] was reformed atRAF Ambala by renumbering114 Squadron, an army cooperation squadron equipped with theBristol F2b Fighter.[5][6] It may have also retained someRoyal Aircraft Factory B.E.2s, although if operated, they were soon phased out.[5] The squadron operated over theNorth-West Frontier, moving toKohat in December 1921.[7]
On 1st April 1938 just before theSecond World War (1939-45), Ambala was approved as the permanent Station Headquarters when some staff from theDrigh Road Karachi Airfield was moved to Ambala, including thePilot Officers Goyal, Arjan Singh and Prithipal Singh, and in June 1938 two squadrons were moved here,No. 1 Squadron IAF (The Tigers) - the oldest squadron of the Indian Air Force andNo. 28 Squadron RAF.[8] Royal Air Force units based at Ambala duringBritish India era included:
On 1 April 1946 1 SFTS, 151 OTU and 1 (Advanced) Flying Unit merged to become the Advanced Flying School (India) at Ambala.
AfterIndia's independence in August 1947, Ambala became independent India's first IAF station.[8] In 1947, FIS Ambala was moved toTambaram nearChennai inTamil Nadu, atTambaram Air Force Station.
In both the1965 and1971 wars, Ambala Air Force Base was attacked by the Pakistani Air Force. In 1965, the Pakistanis struck Ambala and reportedly destroyed some 25 Indian planes just after they had returned from missions (the PAF did not initially claim any IAF aircraft during the attack on Ambala due to non-availability of damage in night bombing).[18]Indian Air Force rejected the Pakistani claim and stated that no aircraft were lost in Ambala during the war.[19]
On February 26, 2019, for India's2019 Balakot airstrike in Pakistan, Mirage fighters took off from the Ambala air base, and the whole operation took 30 minutes.[20]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic in India in 2020-21, the RussianMinistry of Emergency Situations flew relief supplies from Russia to Ambala.[citation needed]
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In 2018–19, Ambala Airforce station housed asquadron ofSEPECAT Jaguar ofNo. 5 Squadron IAF andNo. 14 Squadron IAF, and agingMiG-21bis ofNo. 21 Squadron IAF (Ankush). In May 2020, the base became the house of the first batch of 36 latestDassault Rafale fighter jets at Ambala Air Force Station andHasimara Air Force Station.[21]
The foundation stone for thecivil enclave at Ambala was laid in October 2023, on a 20-acre site next to the airforce base.[22] Land for the civil enclave had been acquired from the ministry of defense for Rupees 133 crores, and another Rupees 40 crores were allocated for infrastructure, while Rupees 16 crore was set aside for construction of the terminal building. Security for the airport will be provided by the Haryana Police.[23][24] The project was initially approved in December 2018 under the Central Government'sUDAN 3.0 scheme but faced delays due to land acquisition issues.[25]
Inauguration of the civil enclave is expected to be around 15th August 2025, in the presence of Union Defence MinisterRajnath Singh.[26] Initial flights are expected to be operated to cities likeJammu,Srinagar,Lucknow, andAyodhya.[27]
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