NE NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI, DEC 9
Rear Admiral Vikram Menon, VSM, Flag Officer Naval Aviation and Flag Officer Commanding Goa Naval Area on Friday awarded the prestigious Wings to nine Naval officers at Naval Air Station – INS Rajali, Arakkonam.
09 officers of the #IndianNavy were awarded the prestigious Wings by RAdm Vikram Menon, FONA & FOGA in a Passing Out Parade held today to mark the graduation of 99 #Helicopter Conversion Course at #INSRajali, #Arakkonam, #TamilNadu. @IndiannavyMedia @indiannavy @Def_PRO_Chennai pic.twitter.com/UDZ7BozNSX
— Eastern Naval Command (@IN_HQENC) December 9, 2022
A Passing Out Parade was also held to mark the graduation of 99 Helicopter Conversion Course (HCC). Additionally, the Indian Navy has, for the first time, undertaken Stage One Training of helicopter pilots, which hitherto used to be carried out with the Indian Air Force. The officers underwent rigorous flying and ground training for 22 weeks at the Indian Naval Air Squadron 561, the alma mater of all helicopter pilots of Indian Navy.
- A Passing Out Parade to mark the graduation of 99 Helicopter Conversion Course (HCC) heldon Friday.
- Lt Satishraj Pradhan bags the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command Rolling Trophy for the trainee pilot standing first in order of merit in Flying
The newly qualified pilots will be appointed to various units across the Indian Navy to carry out missions such as Reconnaissance, Surveillance, Casualty evacuation, SAR and anti-piracy patrols along. The officers who have successfully completed Stage One Training will be retained in the Squadron for Stage Two training.
During the course, the trainee pilots are introduced to several nuances of helicopter flying. The pilots undergo a challenging syllabus which includes navigation, night flying, formation flying and Search and Rescue operations over sea. At the end of the course, the trainees are awarded for their performance.
The Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command Rolling Trophy for the trainee pilot standing first in order of merit in Flying was awarded to Lt Satishraj Pradhan. The Sub Lieutenant Kunte Memorial Book Prize for standing first in order of merit in ground subjects was awarded to Lt Rupesh B Hingase. The Governor of Kerala Rolling Trophy for standing first in overall order of merit in 99th HCC was awarded to Lt Satishraj Pradhan.
The Helicopter Training School was originally setup at Kochi in 1971. In 1992, it was shifted to INS Rajali, Arakkonam which is one of the largest military airfields of the country and is presently commanded by Commodore R Vinod Kumar. The prestigious Helicopter Training School is commanded by Captain Pranay Kumar Pandey who is a Qualified Flying Instructor. It has trained 795 pilots of the Indian Navy, Coast Guard as well as friendly foreign nations.
