No. 222 Squadron (Tigersharks) is a
maritime strike unit based out of Thanjavur. It is the first
Sukhoi Su-30 MKI
The Sukhoi Su-30MKI (NATO reporting name: Flanker-H) is a twinjet multirole air superiority fighter developed by Russia's Sukhoi and built under licence by India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force (IAF). A variant ...
squadron based in southern India and is the also the first squadron equipped with air launched
BrahMos
The BrahMos (also designated as PJ-10)
History
1971 Indo-Pakistan War
No. 222 Squadron was raised at Ambala on 15 September 1969, with Sukhoi Su-7
The Sukhoi Su-7 ( NATO designation name: Fitter-A) is a swept wing, supersonic fighter aircraft developed by the Soviet Union in 1955. Originally, it was designed as a tactical, low-level dogfighter, but was not successful in this role. On the ...
aircraft. In July 1971, the Squadron was moved to Halwara, and was soon engaged in combat with the PAF.
The squadron carried out counter-air strikes against Risalewala and Chander airfields with immense success, despite stiff opposition. It provided CAS
Cas may refer to:
* Caș, a type of cheese made in Romania
* ' (1886–) Czech magazine associated with Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk
* '' Čas'' (19 April 1945–February 1948), the official, daily newspaper of the Democratic Party of Slovakia
* ''CA ...
to ground units in the Dra-Baba-Nanak, Husseinwala and Firozpur sectors. The squadron virtually paralysed the Pakistani armour thrust, due to numerous strikes against enemy gunning positions, armour, and troops, exposing weak flanks to the ground forces.
Short term interdiction missions were directed against rolling stock, rail tracks, marshalling yeards, bridges and enemy convoys. In this the Squadron achieved remarkable success. It conducted photo recon
Recon may refer to:
* Reconnaissance, a military term for gathering information
* '' Halo 3: Recon'', a standalone expansion for the video game ''Halo 3''
* "Recon" (''Lost''), the eighth episode of the sixth season of ''Lost''
* ''Recon'' (ro ...
missions against enemy radar positions, deep inside enemy territory.
The Squadron was highly decorated for its role in the war, including one MVC
MVC may refer to:
Science and technology
* Maximum-value composite procedure, an imaging procedure
* Multivariable calculus, a concept in mathematics
* Multivariable control, a concept in process engineering
* Mechanical vapor comp