President Droupadi Murmu awarded the prestigious President’s Standard to No. 45 Squadron and No. 221 Squadron, and the President’s Colours to 11 Base Repair Depot (BRD) and 509 Signal Unit (SU) of the IAF in a ceremony at IAF station, Hindan.

• President’s Standard and Colours are the highest honour awarded to any military unit.
• This is the first time in the history of the IAF that four units have been awarded the President’s Standard and Colours together in a single ceremony.
• The units honored during the ceremony included:

1. No. 45 ‘Flying Daggers‘: The first Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) squadron of the IAF.
2. No. 221 Squadron ‘Valiants’: Flew almost one-third of all offensive missions during the 1999 Kargil conflict.
3. 11 Base Repair Depot (BRD)
4. 509 Signal Unit (SU)

• The President’s Standard was received by Group Captain M Surendran (45 Squadron) and Group Captain Shubhankan (221 Squadron), while the President’s Colours were received by Air Commodore Ashutosh Vaidya (11 BRD) and Group Captain Vivek Sharma (509 SU).