Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria will operationalise No. 18 Squadron, ‘Flying Bullets’, of the air force at the Sulur airbase on Wednesday. The Squadron will be equipped with LCA Tejas FOC Aircraft and will be the second IAF squadron to fly LCA Tejas. Formed on April 15, 1965, with the motto ‘Teevra aur Nirbhaya’ meaning ‘Swift and Fearless’, the Squadron was flying MiG 27 aircraft before it got number plated on April 15, 2016. The Squadron was resurrected on April 1 this year at Sulur. It actively participated in the 1971 war with Pakistan and was decorated with the highest gallantry award ‘Param Vir Chakra’ awarded to Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon posthumously. It earned the sobriquet of ‘Defenders of Kashmir Valley’ by being the first to land and operate from Srinagar. The Squadron was presented with President’s Standard in November 2015, read a statement. Tejas is an indigenous fourth generation tailless compound delta wing aircraft. It is equipped with a fly-by-wire flight control system, integrated digital avionics, multimode radar and its structure is made out of composite material. It is the lightest and smallest in its group of fourth-generation supersonic combat aircraft.
