Jump to content

Ambala Air Force Station

Coordinates: 30°22′15″N 76°49′04″E / 30.37083°N 76.81778°E / 30.37083; 76.81778
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from VIAM)

Ambala Air Force Station
Ambala, Haryana in India
Site information
TypeMilitary airbase
OwnerMinistry of Defence
OperatorIndian Air Force
Controlled byWestern Air Command
Location
Ambala AFS is located in Haryana
Ambala AFS
Ambala AFS
Shown within Haryana
Ambala AFS is located in India
Ambala AFS
Ambala AFS
Ambala AFS (India)
Coordinates30°22′15″N 76°49′04″E / 30.37083°N 76.81778°E / 30.37083; 76.81778
Site history
Built1919 (1919)
Built byBritish Raj
In use1919 - present
Garrison information
Garrison7 Wing
OccupantsNo. 14 Squadron IAF
No. 5 Squadron IAF
No. 17 Squadron IAF
Airfield information
IdentifiersICAO: VIAM[1]
Elevation275.2 metres (903 ft) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
12/30 2,811 metres (9,222 ft) Concrete / Asphalt
1,770 metres (5,807 ft) Concrete / Asphalt
Air routes of British India in 1925, with single fight between Ambala and Risalpur (now in Nowshera District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa) on 14 January 2025.

The Ambala Air Force Station (ICAO: VIAM) is an Indian Air Force base situated north of the urban Ambala Cantt area in Haryana, India. The Ambala Air Force Station is the home to the first batch of advance multirole fighter jet Dassault Rafales that have been inducted to Indian Air Force.[2]

History

[edit]
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 immediately after the First World War (1914-18), first airstrip was built in Haryana when RAF Ambala was created and a Flying Instruction School (FIS) was formed here.

On 1 April 1920, No. 28 Squadron RAF which was earlier disbanded in Britain on 20 January 1920,[3][4] was reformed at RAF Ambala by renumbering 114 Squadron, an army cooperation squadron equipped with the Bristol F2b Fighter.[5][6][a] The squadron operated over the North-West Frontier, moving to Kohat in December 1921.[7]

On 1st April 1938 just before the Second World War (1939-45), Ambala was approved as the permanent Station Headquarters when some staff from the Drigh Road Karachi Airfield was moved to Ambala, including the Pilot Officers Goyal, Arjan Singh and Prithipal Singh, and in June 1938 two squadrans were moved here, No. 1 Squadron IAF (The Tigers) - the oldest squadron of the Indian Air Force and No. 28 Squadron RAF.[8] Royal Air Force units based at Ambala during British India era included:

After India's independence in August 1947, Ambala became independent India's first IAF station.[8] In 1947, FIS Ambala was moved to Tambaram near Chennai in Tamil Nadu, at Tambaram Air Force Station.

In both the 1965 and 1971 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 Feb 26, 2019, for India's 2019 Balakot airstrike in Pakistan, Mirage fighters took off from the Ambala air base, and the whole operation took 30 minutes.[20]

During 2020-21 covid pandemic, MChS Rossii flew to Ambala with relief supplies from Russia.

Assets

[edit]
Dassault Rafale landing at the Ambala Air Force Station on 29 July 2020.

In 2018–19, Ambala Airforce station housed a squadron of SEPECAT Jaguar of No. 5 Squadron IAF and No. 14 Squadron IAF, and aging MiG-21bis of No. 21 Squadron IAF (Ankush). In May 2020, the IAF became the house of the first batch of 36 latest Dassault Rafale fighter jets at Ambala Air Force Station and Hasimara Air Force Station.[21]

Ambala Domestic Airport

[edit]

The foundation stone for the civil 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's UDAN 3.0 scheme but faced delays due to land acquisition issues.[25]

In March 2025, the domestic terminal is nearing completion, and it will soon start offering scheduled domestic flights on 42-seater ATR 42 to Jammu, Srinagar, Lucknow, and Ayodhya.[26]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ It may have also retained some Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2s, although if operated, they were soon phased out.[5]

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Jefford, C. G. (2001). RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912 (2nd ed.). Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife Publishing. ISBN 1-84037-141-2.
  • Halley, James J. (1988). The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth 1918–1988. Tonbridge, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-164-9.
  • Rawlings, J. D. R. (1969). Fighter Squadrons of the R.A.F. and their Aircraft. London: Macdonald & Co., (Publishers) Ltd.
  • Rawlings, John D. R. (1982). Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd. ISBN 0-7106-0187-5.

Citations

[edit]
  1. ^ World Airport Codes.
  2. ^ "Five Rafale jets leave for India: What happens next".
  3. ^ Halley 1988, p. 72.
  4. ^ Rawlings 1969, pp. 77, 79.
  5. ^ a b Rawlings 1982, p. 45.
  6. ^ Halley 1988, pp. 72–73, 190–191.
  7. ^ Rawlings 1982, pp. 45–46.
  8. ^ a b Ambala-Independent India's first IAF station, iafhistory.in, accessed 3 Jul 2025.
  9. ^ Jefford 2001, p. 27.
  10. ^ Jefford 2001, p. 28.
  11. ^ Jefford 2001, p. 34.
  12. ^ Jefford 2001, p. 37.
  13. ^ Jefford 2001.
  14. ^ Jefford 2001, p. 47.
  15. ^ Jefford 2001, p. 56.
  16. ^ Jefford 2001, p. 59.
  17. ^ Jefford 2001, p. 104.
  18. ^ "Ambala Airbase". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  19. ^ "Indian Air Force Accidents and Incidents". Bharat-rakshak.com. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  20. ^ "'Wait For Our Response,' Says Pak Army After India's Air Strikes". The Quint. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  21. ^ "News18 Newsletter | All We Know So Far About India's Surgical Strike 2.0 on Pakistan". News18. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  22. ^ "Now an airport in Ambala: Here's what you need to know". The Indian Express. 16 October 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  23. ^ "Haryana Police to be deployed at Ambala airport, operational by February: Vij". Hindustan Times. 11 January 2025. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  24. ^ "New Ambala airport to be operational by Feb, says Vij". The Times of India. 11 January 2025. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  25. ^ "Equipment delays push back Ambala Civil Enclave operations". The Tribune (India). 12 January 2025. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  26. ^ Good News for Haryana: Flights to Four Cities from Ambala Airport Coming Soon, theharyanastory.com, 24 Mar 2025.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ambala_Air_Force_Station&oldid=1293600915"