Ambala Air Force Station

The Ambala Air Force Station (ICAO: VIAM) is an Indian Air Force base situated north of the urban Ambala Cantt area in Haryana, India. The Ambala Air Force Station is the home to the first batch of advance multirole fighter jet Dassault Rafales that have been inducted to Indian Air Force.^[2]

Ambala Air Force Station
Ambala, Haryana in India
Site information
Type	Military airbase
Owner	Ministry of Defence
Operator	Indian Air Force
Controlled by	Western Air Command
Location
Ambala AFS Shown within Haryana Show map of Haryana Ambala AFS Ambala AFS (India) Show map of India
Coordinates	30°22′15″N 76°49′04″E
Site history
Built	1919 (1919)
Built by	British Raj
In use	1919 - present
Garrison information
Garrison	7 Wing
Occupants	No. 14 Squadron IAF No. 5 Squadron IAF No. 17 Squadron IAF
Airfield information
Identifiers	ICAO: VIAM[1]
Elevation	275.2 metres (903 ft) AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 12/30 2,811 metres (9,222 ft) Concrete / Asphalt 1,770 metres (5,807 ft) Concrete / Asphalt

Air routes of British India in 1925, with single fight between Ambala and Risalpur (now in Nowshera District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa) on 14 January 2025.

History

See also: Airports in Haryana, Aviation history of Haryana, Indian Air Force history, Civil Aviation History of India, World Aviation History, Aviation in India, and Haryana Institute of Civil Aviation

In 1919 immediately after the First World War (1914-18), first airstrip was built in Haryana when RAF Ambala was created and a Flying Instruction School (FIS) was formed here.

On 1 April 1920, No. 28 Squadron RAF which was earlier disbanded in Britain on 20 January 1920,^[3][4] was reformed at RAF Ambala by renumbering 114 Squadron, an army cooperation squadron equipped with the Bristol F2b Fighter.^[5][6][a] The squadron operated over the North-West Frontier, moving to Kohat in December 1921.^[7]

On 1st April 1938 just before the Second World War (1939-45), Ambala was approved as the permanent Station Headquarters when some staff from the Drigh Road Karachi Airfield was moved to Ambala, including the Pilot Officers Goyal, Arjan Singh and Prithipal Singh, and in June 1938 two squadrans were moved here, No. 1 Squadron IAF (The Tigers) - the oldest squadron of the Indian Air Force and No. 28 Squadron RAF.^[8] Royal Air Force units based at Ambala during British India era included:

• No. 3 Squadron RAF between 1 April and 30 September 1921 without any aircraft^[9]
• No. 5 Squadron RAF between 26 October 1922 and 10 March 1924 with the Bristol F.2B Fighter^[10]
• No. 20 Squadron RAF between 17 October 1921 and 24 October 1922 with the Bristol F.2B^[11]
• No. 28 Squadron RAF between 1 April 1920 and 15 October 1921 with the Bristol F.2B^[12]
• No. 31 Squadron RAF between 13 March 1924 and 15 December 1926 with the Bristol F.2B^[13]
• No. 60 Squadron RAF between 3 March 1939 and 19 September 1940 with the Bristol Blenheim I^[14]
• No. 99 Squadron RAF between 15 June and 26 September 1919 with the Airco DH.9A^[15]
• No. 114 Squadron RAF between 2 October 1919 and 1 April 1920 with the Bristol F.2B^[16]
• No. 659 Squadron RAF between January 1946 and May 1947 with the Taylorcraft Auster V.^[17]

After India's independence in August 1947, Ambala became independent India's first IAF station.^[8] In 1947, FIS Ambala was moved to Tambaram near Chennai in Tamil Nadu, at Tambaram Air Force Station.

In both the 1965 and 1971 wars, Ambala Air Force Base was attacked by the Pakistani Air Force. In 1965, the Pakistanis struck Ambala and reportedly destroyed some 25 Indian planes just after they had returned from missions (the PAF did not initially claim any IAF aircraft during the attack on Ambala due to non-availability of damage in night bombing).^[18] Indian Air Force rejected the Pakistani claim and stated that no aircraft were lost in Ambala during the war.^[19]

On Feb 26, 2019, for India's 2019 Balakot airstrike in Pakistan, Mirage fighters took off from the Ambala air base, and the whole operation took 30 minutes.^[20]

During 2020-21 covid pandemic, MChS Rossii flew to Ambala with relief supplies from Russia.

Assets

Dassault Rafale landing at the Ambala Air Force Station on 29 July 2020.

In 2018–19, Ambala Airforce station housed a squadron of SEPECAT Jaguar of No. 5 Squadron IAF and No. 14 Squadron IAF, and aging MiG-21bis of No. 21 Squadron IAF (Ankush). In May 2020, the IAF became the house of the first batch of 36 latest Dassault Rafale fighter jets at Ambala Air Force Station and Hasimara Air Force Station.^[21]

Ambala Domestic Airport

The foundation stone for the civil enclave at Ambala was laid in October 2023, on a 20 acre site next to the airforce base.^[22] Land for the civil enclave had been acquired from the ministry of defense for Rupees 133 crores, and another Rupees 40 crores were allocated for infrastructure, while Rupees 16 crore was set aside for construction of the terminal building. Security for the airport will be provided by the Haryana Police.^[23][24] The project was initially approved in December 2018 under the Central Government's UDAN 3.0 scheme but faced delays due to land acquisition issues.^[25]

Inauguration of the civil enclave is expected to be around 15th August 2025, in the presence of Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.^[26] Initial flights are expected to be operated to cities like Jammu, Srinagar, Lucknow, and Ayodhya.^[27]

See also

• Aviation portal
• India portal

• List of airports in India by state
  • Airports Authority of India
  • List of busiest airports in India
  • List of Indian Air Force bases
• Military
  • Sirsa Air Force Station, a nearby station in Haryana state
  • Gurugram Air Force Station, a nearby station in Haryana state
  • Raja Nahar Singh Faridabad Air Force Logistics Station, a nearby station in Haryana state
  • Hisar Military Station, a nearby station in Haryana state
  • List of Indian Air Force stations
  • List of Armed Forces Hospitals In India