Air HQ Communication Squadron, Indian Air Force

Air HQ Communication Squadron (Pegasus) (AHCS) is a transport squadron and is equipped with Various types of aircraft and based at Air Force Station Palam, near Indira Gandhi International Airport.[1] It maintains a fleet of aircraft to provide air transport within the country to VIPs.

Air HQ Communication Squadron
Active1 November 1947 - Present
Country Republic of India
Branch Indian Air Force
Garrison/HQPalam AFS
Nickname(s)"Pegasus"
Motto(s)Seva aur Suraksha
Service and Security
Aircraft flown
TransportBoeing 737
Embraer 135BJ

Organisation and aircraft

The squadron is commanded by an officer with the rank of Group Captain and is part of the 3rd Wing at Palam, under the functional and administrative control of the Directorate of Operations (VIP) at Air HQ. It consists of three Boeing Business Jet aircraft, four Embraer Legacy Business jets and six Mi-8 helicopters, which are utilised for domestic transport of VVIPs and Other Entitled Persons (OEPs). Until 2020, VVIPs utilised Air India's Boeing 747-400 aircraft for international trips.[2]

History

The squadron was formed on 1 November 1947 at Palam, and began operations with war-surplus Airspeed Oxford and Douglas C-47 Skytrain (Dakota) aircraft.[3] It acquired the de Havilland Dove the following year.[4] The first turboprop aircraft, two Vickers Viscounts, were inducted in 1956, but were withdrawn from service and sold in 1967.[5] During his premiership, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and his family occasionally flew in a VIP Dakota, IJ-817-S, from which his ashes were scattered in the Vale of Kashmir following his death in May 1964.[6]

In 1964, the squadron acquired the Hawker Siddeley HS 748 (Avro), followed by the induction of three VIP variants of the Tupolev Tu-124 in 1966.[3] On 4 November 1977, one of the three TU-124 aircraft (V-643), carrying Prime Minister Morarji Desai and other officials from Delhi to Jorhat, struck trees during its landing approach and crashed with the loss of the crew, though the Prime Minister and the other passengers survived. A subsequent court of inquiry attributed the cause of the accident to a combination of spatial disorientation and pilot error, with the possible failure of a radio-altimeter as a factor.[7] The last of the three TU-124s, Rajdoot, was retired on 13 November 1981, having been replaced by the Boeing 737-200 in October 1980.[8]

From 21 September 2005, four Embraer Legacy 600 jets were inducted into the squadron to replace the Avro transports.[9] In 2009, three upgraded Boeing 737-7HI jets with advanced defensive features similar to the U.S. "Air Force One" replaced the formerly used Boeing 737-200 aircraft.[10]

References
  1. "Squadrons and Helicopter Units". Bharat Rakshak. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  2. "Audit of Air HQ Communication Squadron" (PDF). Comptroller and Auditor General of India. 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  3. "VIP Squadron of Air Force Celebrates 33rd Anniversary" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 17 November 1980. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  4. "Air Headquarters Communication Squadron" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 7 December 1984. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  5. Turner, P. St. John (1968). Handbook of the Vickers Viscount. London: Ian Allan Publishing. p. 149. ISBN 978-0711000520.
  6. "The Late Prime Minister Nehru's Ashes Scattered from the Air" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 12 June 1964. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  7. "Regarding the Air Accident at Jorhat on 4 November 1977 to TU-124 Aircraft Carrying the Prime Minister" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 10 May 1978. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  8. "Last of the TU-124 Fleet Bows Out of Indian Air Force" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 13 November 1981. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  9. Pandey, B.K. (2020). "15 years' legacy with the IAF". SP's Aviation. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  10. Krishnaswamy, Murali N. (24 March 2011). "A command post in the air". The Hindu. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
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