Rafale, Chinook hog attention at air show in Udhampur

Udhampur/Jammu, October 12

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The skies over Udhampur roared on Wednesday as fighter jets and combat helicopters of the IAF captivated the audience with their manoeuvres during an air show to mark the diamond jubilee celebrations at the headquarters of the Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.

As part of the event, a fly-past began with skydiving by a team of Akashganga from AN32 followed by air manoeuvres and different formations by Jaguar, MiG29, Su-30 and Rafale aircraft, officials said.

Combat helicopters like Apache, Mi-17 Slithering and Chinook also exhibited adrenaline-pumping manoeuvres in the first-of-its-kind air show at the Udhampur Air Force Station.

Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Air Command, Air Marshal Sreekumar Prabhakaran, lauded the role of the headquarters, AOC, Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, for dominating the Himalayas over the past 60 years.

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command, Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Air Officer Commanding, Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, Air Vice-Marshal Praveen Keshav Vohra and other senior IAF, military and civil dignitaries also attended the show.

“As part of the diamond jubilee celebrations of the headquarters, AOC, the motive is to dominate the Himalayas and that is what they have been doing it for the past 60 years. The AOC, J&K, was established in 1962 and it moved to Udhampur in 1964,” Prabhakaran said.

He said the headquarters, AOC, had worked as a link between the IAF’s Delhi-based Western Command and the Northern Command of the Army.

“And thanks to the headquarters, AOC, the Northern Command of the Army and the Western Command based in Delhi, we work closely and it is this headquarters which has helped in coordinating all activities between the Army and the Air Force,” the Western Commander said.

Prabhakaran said the headquarters had built a good liaison with the Army and soldiers on the frontline were looked after well and all their needs, whether related to ration or ammunition, especially during the winters, were fulfilled.

“The headquarters also maintains a close liaison with civilians, whether it was an earthquake which happened in J&K earlier, flood in Srinagar and the issue which we recently had at the Amarnath cave,” he said.