The Indian Navy formally decommissioned its Sea Harrier FRS51
fighters
and T Mk 60 trainers at a formal ceremony at INS Hansa in Dabolim, Goa.
The phasing out of the Sea Harrier with Indian Naval
Air Squadron
300 (INAS 300), ‘White Tigers’, coincided with the induction of the
MiG-29K carrier borne strike aircraft into the Squadron. The type’s
final appearance in Indian skies saw two Sea Harriers perform a flying
display with two MiG-29Ks.
The Indian Navy decided to acquire the Sea Harrier
FRS Mk 51 in
1979, placing orders for six single seat fighters and two T Mk 60
trainers. The type replaced the Hawker Sea Hawk, which was phased out
in 1978. The arrival of V/STOL capability was heralded in India when
the first three Sea Harriers landed at Dabolim on 16 December 1983.
This was followed by the first deck landing on the carrier, INS
Vikrant, on 20 Dec 1983 and the arrival of the first Harrier T Mk 60
trainer, on 29 March 1984.
The Indian Navy operated its Sea Harriers for a full
decade after the Royal Navy retired the type in 2006. The Sea Harrier
served for 33 years in the Indian Navy, flying from the aircraft
carriers INS Vikrant and INS Viraat in the fleet air defence role.
Surviving aircraft will be distributed to museums.
The ageing Sea Harriers were getting increasingly
hard to maintain and flew for the last time on 6th March from INS
Viraat, (previously HMS Hermes) also to be retired this year. The Sea
Harriers were modernised by Hindustan Aeronautics as part of the
Limited Upgrade Sea Harrier (LUSH) programme to carry Israeli Derby BVR
missiles, ELTA EL/M-2032 multimode radars and a datalink.
(Information via Bob Bounden and Mike Pryce)