Indian Air Force to Setup First Sukhoi Squadron in Punjab by 2011

Indian Air Force to Setup First Sukhoi Squadron in Punjab by 2011 (NSI News Source Info) November 17, 2008: In a move to provide teeth to its Air Force fleet along the Indo-Pak border, India will deploy two of its air superiority Sukhoi fighter squadrons in Halwara air base in Punjab by 2011. The Indian Air Force's (IAF) sword-arm Western Air Command (WAC) has drawn up a two-year plan and is preparing to host the Sukhoi squadrons at the Halwara fighter base near Ludhiana."We will get the first of the Su-30 squadrons to be based under the WAC by 2011 at the Halwara air base," WAC chief Air Marshal Pranab Kumar Barbora said. The IAF has already started the work to develop the infrastructure for deploying the squadrons with the most potent fighter aircraft in its fleet at the air base, which currently hosts the MiG-23 BN squadrons."We have started developing infrastructure for the Su-30 MKIs' deployment there. Work on the runway and other facilities has started and its going to be fully prepared for the aircraft in the next two years," Barbora said here. The two Su-30 MKI squadrons would be deployed at Halwara simultaneously once the MiG-23s are phased out early next year.These would be the first Su-30 MKI squadrons under the WAC, the largest of IAF's five operational commands in terms of area.