Air Force Station Arjan Singh | |||||||||||
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Indian Air Force C-130J | |||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Military (Indian Air Force) | ||||||||||
| Operator | Eastern Air Command | ||||||||||
| Serves | Indian Air Force | ||||||||||
| Location | Panagarh,West Bengal | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 240 ft / 73 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 23°28′28″N087°25′39″E / 23.47444°N 87.42750°E /23.47444; 87.42750 | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Source:DAFIF[1] | |||||||||||
Air Force Station Arjan Singh (ICAO:VEPH), formerlyPanagarh Airport, is anairport nearPanagarh, a small village[1] in thestate ofWest Bengal inIndia. It is an air force base underEastern Air Command ofIndian Air Force. It is 24 km southeast ofDurgapur city.
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DuringWorld War II, the airport was used as a supply transport airfield from 1942 to 1945 by theUnited States Army Air ForcesTenth Air Force and as a repair and maintenance depot forB-24 Liberator heavy bombers byAir Technical Service Command.[2][3]
The airport has numerous wartime relics, with abandoned taxiways and a large concrete parking ramp remaining, although not used and in a deteriorating state.
In 2018 the airport was renamed after former chief of air forceArjan Singh.[4]
The airport is at anelevation of 73 m (240 ft) abovemean sea level. It has onerunway designated 15/33 with anasphalt surface measuring 2743 m by 46 m (9000 ft by 150 ft).[1]
The Air Force is also planning to deploy sixaerial refueling tanker aircraft at Panagarh Air Station in West Bengal. This will enhance the striking range of fighter planes likeSu-30MKIs based inTezpur andChabua (both inAssam). Panagarh is also the headquarters of Army'sXVII Mountain Strike Corps. AFS Arjan Singh is another training base for Paratroopers.Paratrooper Training School inAgra have already set up their base here to trainSpecial Forces for operations at night, even beyond the country's borders.[5][6]