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Expert fighter jet trainer appointed chief of Kalaikunda airbase

Air Cmde. Singh is a qualified flying instructor and has previously commanded a frontline fighter squadron and an operational surveillance unit.

Expert fighter jet trainer appointed chief of Kalaikunda airbase

Air Cmde Ran Singh taking over charge of Kalaikunda AFS (file photo)

The Kalaikunda Air Force Station (AFS) in Bengal, a strategic IAF base in the Eastern theatre witnessed a change in command where an experienced fighter jet-trainer took charge of the base that over the years has trained the finest pilots of India’s military aviation.

Located 121 km from Kolkata, Kalaikunda AFS was set up during World War II as a forward airfield against the Japanese offensive in Burma and Malaya. The airbase was originally designed for the B-24 Liberator American heavyweight
bombers.

In the midst of Indo-China tensions, the Kalaikunda airbase will play a key role in thwarting possible attacks by China in the Eastern Theatre airspace, said an IAF official.

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The defence spokesperson today shared that Air Commodore Ran Singh has taken over as the Air Officer Commanding of AFS Kalaikunda. He was commissioned in the flying branch of IAF in 1992 and is an experienced fighter pilot with more than 3250 flying hours.

Air Cmde. Singh is a qualified flying instructor and has previously commanded a frontline fighter squadron and an operational surveillance unit. IAF sources said that appointments to air force stations are made according to the requirements of a base, and capabilities of an individual to fulfil them.

During 1962 Chinese aggression, Kalaikunda was used as a supply base for the Far East. Its finest moment came in the 1971 Indo-Pak War. The base survived two air raids by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). An IAF Hunter shot down an F-86 Sabre of PAF. The airbase later became the home for Mig-27 attack aircraft.

“It has excellent infrastructure to house several operational units, especially fighter aircraft. The airbase is located far from the border and hence enjoys ‘defence-in-depth. It is currently used for training with friendly air forces from across the world, besides fighter flying training for newly inducted combat pilots, as well as armament training for fighter fleets”, the former IAF chief Arup Raha had told The Statesman.

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