CO of first Rafale Squadron transferred within 6 months of command
Thu, Mar 11 2021 22:21 IST |
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CO of first Rafale Squadron transferred within 6 months of command (Twitter). Image Source: IANS News
New Delhi, March 11 : The commanding officer (CO) of the first Rafale Squadron of the Indian Air Force, Group Captain Harkirat Singh, has been transferred to the Eastern Air Command (EAC) in Shillong, just six months after taking command, sources said.
While the Indian Air Force (IAF) maintained that it is a routine transfer, the move has raised eyebrows in the service with questions being raised as to why he was removed within six months of command of the first Rafale fighter squadron .
Commanding Officer of first Rafale squadron transferred
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Last Updated: Mar 12, 2021, 04:44 PM IST
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Synopsis
The sources said Group Captain Harkirat Singh is likely to oversee the raising of the second Rafale squadron in his new posting at the Eastern Air Command.
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The Commanding Officer of the first Rafale fighter squadron based in Ambala air force station in Haryana has been transferred to the headquarters of the Eastern Air Command in Shillong, official sources said on Thursday.
Group Captain Harkirat Singh is set to be succeeded by Group Captain Rohit Kataria as the commanding officer of the squadron, known as 17 Golden Arrows.
The 101 `Falcons’ Squadronat Hasimara airbase is slated to get the second lot of 18 Rafales under the Rs 59,000 crore deal inked with France for 36 of the omni-role jets in September 2016, as was reported earlier by TOI.
Group Captain Singh, incidentally, was conferred the nation’s third-highest peacetime gallantry medal, the Shaurya Chakra, for displaying exceptional courage in landing a MiG-21 ‘Bison’ despite the critical emergency of “an engine flameout” during a practice interception sortie in September 2008. Group Captain Singh had led the “main” Rafale induction team of pilots, flight engineers and technicians in France. Group Captains Singh and Kataria were also among the pilots who had flown the first five Rafales to Ambala in July last year. The Rafales were formally inducted into the IAF at a ceremony in Ambala the following September.
Group Captain Harkirat Singh is set to be succeeded by Group Captain Rohit Kataria as the commanding officer of the squadron, known as 17 Golden Arrows.
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