No. 109 Helicopter Unit, IAF

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
No. 109 Helicopter Unit
Active26 August 1961 - Present
Country
Himalayan mountains.
Aircraft flown
TransportMi-17 V5[1]

No.109 Helicopter Unit (Knights) is a squadron of the Indian Air Force. Raised on August 26, 1961 equipped with Mi 4s, it later converted to Mi 8s in 1974, which were further replaced by Mi-17 V5 in 2016.[1] Based at Sulur Air Force Station,[2] it currently forms a part of the Southern Air Command.[3]

Since its raising, No. 109 HU has been involved in almost all major military operations, flying in support of

LTTE in Sri Lanka in 1987.[4]

Crest

No 109 HU has, as its emblem, a tribladed rotary on the backdrop of the

History

1962 Sino Indian War

No 109 HU had been thrust into action right from the moment of its birth when, in 1962, the

in face of extremes of conditions and harshest of terrains.

Following the war, 109 was deployed in a number of different roles, from supporting the Border Roads Development Organisation, in the

North East India, to flying in support of disaster relief following the Jagadhri floods in Uttar Pradesh
in 1963.

The military role of 109, however, again came into calling when riots broke out in

Second Kashmir War.No 109 HU was heavily involved in the tactical airlift of troops and security personnel into the sensitive areas in the valley, and was also heavily involved in reconnaissance and patrol missions.[4]

Assignments

References

  1. ^ a b "Sulur Airbase gets modern helicopters". The Hindu. 8 October 2016.
  2. ^ Thomas, Wilson (28 August 2018). "How air warriors fromSulur flew to help Kerala". The Hindu.
  3. ^ Dutch Aviation Society. OrBat of the Indian Air Force Archived 2009-01-22 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ a b c d No. 109 Helicopter Unit. Indian Air Force