Vice chief of air staff flies Sukhoi refuelling mission

Vice Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sandeep Singh, on Monday flew an air-to-air refuelling mission on a Sukhoi-30 MKI at Pune air base to mark two decades of his association with the frontline fighter, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has said.

The IAF said that Air Marshal Singh flew the air-to-air refuelling mission with Group Captain Aditya Bawa, Commanding Officer of the 30 Squadron. “VCAS’ last sortie on fighters was to mark the legacy of his first sortie on fighters which was also in 30 Squadron at Tezpur,” a tweet from the Southern Western Air Command said.

IAF base at Lohegaon in Pune, which is in the area responsible of the Gandhinagar-headquartered Southern Western Air Command, is home to two squadrons of the Sukhoi 30 MKI — the ‘20 Squadron’ and the 30 Squadron also known as ‘Rhinos’.