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No. 23 Squadron IAF

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No. 23 Squadron
Active1957 - Present
CountryIndia Republic of India
Branch Indian Air Force
RoleFighter
Garrison/HQAFS NAL
Nickname(s)"Panthers"
Motto(s)Amritham Abhayam
Immortal and Fearless
Aircraft flown
FighterMiG-21 Bison

No. 23 Squadron (Panthers) is a fighter squadron and is equipped with MiG-21Bison and based at AFS NAL.[1][2]

History

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The squadron was raised in the year 1956 and it became the first squadron in Indian Air Force to be commissioned with Folland Gnat.[3]

The squadron was relocated to AFS NAL in June 2024 and will be in use with its sister squadron No. 3 Squadron. The move was done to streamline the maintenance and operability of the last remaining MiG-21. Both the squadron will transition to the newly ordered Tejas Mk1A.[2]

Assignments

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Aircraft

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Aircraft From To Air Base
de Havilland Vampire November 1956 January 1960
Folland Gnat February 1960 January 1978
MiG-21 bis February 1978 July 2005
MiG-21 Bison July 2005 June 2024 AFS Suratgarh
June 2024 Present AFS NAL

References

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  1. ^ "Squadrons and Helicopter Units". Bharat Rakshak. Archived from the original on 14 April 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  2. ^ a b Singh, Rahul (28 June 2024). "IAF relocates MiG-21s to Nal base as it prepares to replace the fleet". Hindustan Times.
  3. ^ @IAF_MCC (1 October 2020). "No 23 Sqn 'Panthers' raised in the year 1956, went on to become the first 'Gnat' squadron of IAF. The Sqn in 196 5War achieved its first aerial kill & earned the title SabreSlayers" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. ^ "How-Indian-Air-Force-Came-of-Age-in-1965". New Ind Express. Archived from the original on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.