Tracing The Origin Of India's Own 'Top Gun' Fighter Pilot School - 'TACDE'

There is an intense combat sequence in Hrithik Roshan's 'Fighter,' but such exceptional skills are cultivated at the Indian Air Force's Tactics and Combat Development Establishment (TACDE)

Squadron Leader Shamsher Pathania, call sign 'Patty,' a top fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force, joins forces with other elite aviators to establish a special unit called 'Air Dragons.' 'Patty,' piloting a Su-30MKI, skillfully evades a missile lock from an F-16 by executing the daring 'cobra manoeuvre,' subjecting himself to high g-forces. This intense combat sequence is from Hrithik Roshan's 'Fighter,' but such exceptional skills are cultivated at the Indian Air Force's Tactics and Combat Development Establishment (TACDE), where aviators are trained to be the "best of the best."

TACDE ( pronounced as 'Tack-dee') stands as India's equivalent of the renowned 'Top Gun' school, focusing on training the top 1 per cent of the air force in aerial combat and tactical procedures to produce elite fighter pilots and ground staff. In contrast to the U.S. Navy's Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor Course, known as TOP GUN, which began in a California parking lot, TACDE originated as a test program to achieve self-reliance in the Indian Air Force's combat doctrine.

Anchit Gupta, an award-winning Air Force historian, extensively details the history of TACDE. The special unit was established in February 1971, ten months before the Indo-Pak war, as the Tactical and Combat Development and Training Squadron (T&CD&TS) for combat pilots, fighter controllers, and operators of guided weapons and platforms in Adampur, Punjab. It was later renamed TACDE in 1972 and had the privilege of serving during the 1971 war.