No.153 Helicopter Unit Daring Dragons Motto : Apatsu Mitram (A friend in time of need) Date Raised : 1988-11-01 Location : Udhampur No 153 Helicopter Units was raised at Air Force Station, Udhampur on 01 November 1988. Initially equipped with the Mi-17 helicopter, the Units upgraded to the Mi-171V in February 2001 and then on to the Mi-17V5 in January 2014. In the period since its inception, 153 HU has actively participated in Operations Meghdoot, Pawan, Rakshak, Blizzard, Baruab, Sarpvinash, Rahat, to name a few. The Units also took part in Operation Safed Sagar, flying extensively over the forbidding heights of Kargil and Dras. In recognition of its services, 153 HU was awarded the Chief of the Air Staff’s Citation in the year 2007 – one of the first Indian Air Force Unitss to be so awarded. The name and crest of the Daring Dragons draw inspiration from the mythical Ladakhi dragon since Ladakh is the main area of operations of the Units.
Aircraft Types operated over the years: |
Commanding Officers | |||||
24 Nov 88 - 14 Jun 92Wing CommanderRam Mohan Shridharan12033 GD(P)COUdhampur | 15 Jun 92 - 07 Jun 94Wing CommanderRam Karan Makar13796 F(P)COUdhampur | 21 Jun 94 - 28 Jul 97Wing CommanderGovindan Ajith Kumar Nair14677 F(P)COUdhampur | 28 Jul 97 - 21 Jun 99Wing CommanderKaran Vir Singh Parmar15688 F(P)COUdhampur | 21 Jun 99 - 17 Jun 01Wing CommanderAnup Kumar Prabhakaran16808 F(P)COUdhampur | |
18 Jun 01 - 15 Jun 03Wing CommanderSachendra Pratap Singh Sisodiya17454 F(P)COUdhampur | 16 Jun 03 - 13 Nov 05Wing CommanderRajeev Kumar Chouhan18556 F(P)COUdhampur | 14 Nov 05 - 09 Sep 07Wing CommanderRajesh Puri19919 F(P)COUdhampur | 10 Sep 07 - 04 Oct 09Wing CommanderSartaj Bedi21024 F(P)COUdhampur | | |