Visakhapatnam: The INAS-312 maritime reconnaissance squadron of the Eastern Naval Command (ENC), based at Arakkonam in Tamil Nadu, celebrated its silver jubilee on Monday.
Along with the squadron, silver jubilee celebrations of TU 142 M aircraft, Albatross, were also held at INS Rajali, a premier naval air station at Arakkonam, operating under the control of the Eastern Naval Command.
The celebrations kicked off with a seminar on maritime operations held at INS Rajali on Sunday. Vice-Admiral Dilip Deshpande, also a member of the commissioning crew, delivered the key note address at the seminar.
ENC commander-in-chief, vice-admiral Anil Chopra, was the chief guest at the anniversary events that followed, including a cultural evening held in the evening.
The vice-admiral also unveiled the silver jubilee plaque to commemorate the event and released a coffee table book, recounting the glorious journey of the squadron.
Vice-Admiral Chopra revi-eral of Chennai, Mervin Alexander.
This was followed by a fly-past in which aircraft from both the eastern and western naval commands, comprising Chetak helicopters, Dornier, P8I and the TU 142 M took part.
Though originally commissioned on this day in 1976, with the super constellation aircraft, the squadron was re-commissioned with Tupolov 142 M aircraft, in 1988, by the then defence minister, late K.C. Pant.
Through the years, the Albatross has rendered yeoman service to the nation, keeping up with modern developments and advancements in avionics. As an acknowledgement of this unflinching contribution, the squadron was awarded a unit citation, Best Frontline Squadron Trophy twice, the CNS Flight Safety Trophy four times.
