Article Posted on : - Nov 03, 2008

Indian Chief of Army Staff, Gen Deepak Kapoor presenting the Annual Flight Safety trophy

NEW DELHI (BNS): The Annual Flight Safety trophy for the year 2007-08 was presented to 35 recce and Observation Flight of Army Aviation Corps by the Indian Chief of Army Staff, Gen Deepak Kapoor.

This trophy is awarded to pilots and the units with the best flight safety performance.

Indian army's aviators and helicopters operate regularly in all-weather conditions, from the high altitude regions of the Himalayas to the deserts of western Indian state of Rajasthan bordering Pakistan. One of its daunting tasks of the elite arms is to keep up the supply chain running at the world's highest battle field in the Siachen Glacier.

Army aviation has proved to be the lifeline for troops posted in adverse locations along the border. It logs more than 50,000 flying hours every year in transporting troops and material to far flung areas of the country while evacuating casualties, a PIB press release here said.

A unit of the Indian Army aviation has also been deployed in Congo as part of the UN peace mission. The Indian ministry of defence would soon provide army with new light helicopters to increase its fleet.

The Corps is undergoing modernisation and upgradation to augment its operational potential living up to its motto, 'swift and sure’.