On 20 January 2020, No 222 Squadron, the Tigersharks were inducted at Air Force Station Thanjavur in a ceremony attended by General Bipin Rawat, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria, Chief of the Air Staff, Dr G Satheesh Reddy, Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman, DRDO, Air Marshal Amit Tiwari, Air Officer Commanding – in – Chief (AOC-in-C), Southern Air Command (SAC), Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain, Flag Officer Commanding – in – Chief (FOC-in-C), Eastern Naval Command (ENC), Mr R Madhavan, Chairman cum Managing Director, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and other Dignitaries.
General Bipin Rawat in his address said that the resurrection of the ‘Tigersharks’ highlighted the Integration and Jointness which is the future of the Indian Armed Forces. He brought out that Su 30 MKI aircraft along with the BrahMos will be the game-changer which will extensively enhance the security of the Maritime domain. The Squadron will be operating closely with the Indian Army and Navy to get the ball rolling in jointness of the Indian Armed Forces.
Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria, Chief of Air Staff, in his address thanked the CDS for being at the ceremony. He said that it was a historic day for the Indian Air Force, Southern Air Command, Air Force Station Thanjavur and 222 Squadron. He spoke of the decision to choose Thanjavur as the base for induction of the SU 30 MKI squadron because of its strategic location and complemented Southern Air Command and all personnel of AFS Thanjavur for their efforts towards advancing the induction of the squadron by almost a year. The induction ceremony culminated with a flying display by Light Combat Aircraft, Sarang Helicopter Display Team and Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team.
