The mission started in the midnight hours of 3-4 May in when IAF’s military transport aircraft C-17 Globemaster aircraft took off from the Hindan Air Force base.
In this file photo, U.S. Air Force 535th Airlift Squadron and the Indian Air Force No. 81 Squadron personnel pose for a photo during Exercise COPE INDIA 2022 at Hindan Air Base, India Nov. 18, 2022.
The IAF chief also addressed the challenge of finishing the selection process on time which the forces, during the launch of the scheme, had set December as the deadline.
In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiatives to take major events and festivities out of the national capital region to different parts of the country, the Indian Air Force has decided to celebrate this year's annual Air Force Day parade and flypast in Chandigarh instead of the Hindan Air Base in Delhi NCR, where it was being held for past many years.