Air Force Academy celebrates golden jubilee

PTI, Jan 20, 2021, 12:00 PM IST

Hyderabad: The Air Force Academy (AFA) at Dundigal here, one of the most prestigious training academies in the country, commemorated 50 years of its existence on Tuesday.

IAF chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria, who graced the occasion, addressed trainees and instructors of AFA during a training workshop organised as part of the golden jubilee celebrations and complimented the Academy for rendering yeoman service in imparting high-quality training, a defence release said on Tuesday night.

Outlining the contours of the emerging security scenarios and underscoring requirements for IAF’s capability-building and technological growth, he urged the trainees to imbibe the IAF’s ethos and train hard to prepare for challenges that lie ahead, it said.

He also asked them to develop tri-service domain knowledge to fight future wars, it said.

”He asked faculty at AFA and HQ Training Command to explore avenues for evolving new training methodologies, reshaping curriculum and incorporating new-gen aids to make officers future-ready,” the release said.

The Chief of the Air Staff flew a sortie in a PC-7Mk-II trainer with one of the qualified flying instructors currently serving at AFA to mark the Golden Jubilee, it said.

He unveiled a statue of the ”Eternal Pilot” presented to the Academy by pioneers of 107 Pilots’ Course – the first course to undergo flying training at AFA.

He released an Indian Postal service Special Cover and Golden Jubilee medallion on the occasion, it said.

Air Force Academy, the ‘Alma mater’ of IAF’s officer cadre and one of the most prestigious training academies of the country, has come a long way in establishing itself as a world-class institution, it said.

With a team of experienced and highly qualified instructors, the Air Force Academy today conducts training for all Flying and Ground Duty branches of IAF.

In addition, AFA imparts training to officers of Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and friendly foreign countries in various streams, it said.

The Academy also conducts basic and advanced training for Air Traffic Control Officers of the IAF and other two sister services, the release said.