IAF ‘Flying Bullets’ Resurrected
On 27 May 2020, the Indian Air Force received the first Tejas LCA Mk.1 (FOC) aircraft at Air Force Station Sulur (near Coimbatore) from HAL and, with it, stood up No.18 Squadron (Flying Bullets) which is the second unit (after No.45 Squadron) with the indigenously developed and built light combat aircraft. Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria, received the aircraft documents from Mr R Madhavan, Chairman HAL in a ceremony attended by Air Marshal Amit Tiwari AOC-in-C Southern Air Command, Air Marshal TD Joseph, Commodore Commandant of No.18 Squadron and Dr Girish Deodhare, PGD (CA) and Director Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA).
Earlier, the aircraft was blessed at an all denomination religious ceremony in the squadron hangar.
Series production of the FOC Standard Tejas LCA Mk.1 has been continuing at the Bangalore Complex of HAL, the first such aircraft flown by HAL Chief Test Pilot (fixed wing) Air Commodore KA Muthana on 17 March 2020, with HAL-assigned tail number LA 5021 (in photo). Another three FOC standard LCAs have been built and are currently being test flown at HAL Bangalore before joining the first such at Sulur. The unit establishment (UE) of an IAF fighter squadron is 16 aircraft plus 2 twin-seaters but HAL has yet to build the four twin-seaters for the two squadrons equipped with the single-seat LCA Mk.1s. A consequence has been that after the 16th LCA Mk.1 (IOC) tail number LA 5016, the IAF has sequentially given tail number LA 5017 to the first LCA Mk.1 (FOC) with the next three reportedly following in sequence till LA 5020.
The second FOC aircraft with tail number LA 5018 seen at HAL Bangalore
On 27 May 2020, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria handed over LCA aircraft documents and a symbolic ‘key’ to the CO No.18 Squadron Gp Capt Manish Tolani and later flew in an LCA Mk.1 (IOC) of No.45 Squadron, the CAS being a test pilot and having extensively flown the LCA while commanding the National Flight Test Centre (NFTC) at Bangalore.
LCA formation take off at Air Force Station, Sulur
No.18 Squadron was raised at Ambala on 15 April 1965, being the fifth such formation on HAL-built Gnat light fighters, commanded by Wg Cdr AL Michael and adopting a ‘Flying Bullet’ as its unit crest. No.18 Squadron is famed with its pilot Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon receiving a posthumous Param Vir Chakra during the 1971 war in air defence of Srinagar, the only PVC of the IAF.
No.18 Squadron also has the distinction of always operating HAL-built aircraft, the Gnat being followed by the Ajeet and later the MiG-27ML with which it was equipped at Kalaikunda when it was number plated in April 2016.
Heartening sight of increasing numbers of the Tejas LCA in squadron service (pix: PTI)