Chandigarh, March 25: The Indian Air Force on Monday formally inducted Chinook helicopters at Air Force Station 12 Wing in Chandigarh.
Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa attended the induction ceremony. Also, teachers from four different religions were present at the ceremony.
The helicopters were flown to Chandigarh, which would be the choppers permanent base. Two hangars and a maintenance bay along with associated technical and logistics facilities were to have been set up here for the purpose.
Chinooks have a payload capacity of about 10 tonne and will provide much-needed fillip to the IAF heavy-lift capability, a role earlier being fulfilled by Soviet origin Mi-26s, also based at Chandigarh.
The IAF had four Mi-26, but now is left with just one serviceable machine. Chinooks will lift artillery, vehicles, road construction and engineer equipment as well as troops and supplies to mountainous sectors in North and North-East.
Chandigarh is no stranger to Chinook. Three of them belonging to British Royal Air Force had been airlifted here from the UK for onward journey to Nepal for flood relief operations in 2015. After being re-assembled and test-flown, these spent a few days here before being recalled home.
