No. 87 Squadron of Indian Air Force is located at Panagarh Air Force Station and is assigned to Eastern Air Command. The tactical-aircraft squadron is used for special forces and also for Indian Army's new XVII Mountain Strike Corps located at Panagarh.
No. 87 Squadron | |
---|---|
Active | 6 May 2016 - Present |
Country | India |
Role | Special Air Operations |
Garrison/HQ | Panagarh AFS |
Nickname(s) | "Raiding Raptors"[1] |
Motto(s) | Wings of Valor [2] |
Aircraft flown | |
Transport | C-130J Super Hercules |
Initially, two C-130Js from No. 77 Squadron, Hindon AFS operated from Panagarh since its inauguration in May 2016, till the new Super Hercules arrived next year.[3] The first two C-130J Super Hercules landed in July 2017.[4] A month later in August 2017, remaining four aircraft arrived at the base with IAF commissioning the air base as Air Force Station Arjan Singh.[5][6]