Hi friends,
Hope y'all are doing well.
As we all know that the recent India Pakistan conflict is all over the internet. There has been a war of words ongoing since the real skirmish got over. Who shot what ? Which weapon was used to attack which target ? Who downed how many jets of either side. With this topic in the spotlight and me being a keen defence aficionado, yesterday I got to tick off one of the plans that has been in my mind for a few months i.e., Visit the Air Force Heritage Museum.
The Indian Air Force Heritage Museum, located at Chandigarh is India's first air force heritage centre. Opened in May 2023, it showcases the role of Indian Air Force (IAF) in all the wars and is equipped with modern paraphernalia like virtual reality, augmented reality, hologram, simulators and electro mechanical enclosures.
My friend, Ashish and I reached the museum around 10 am and since they just opened for the day, there was no crowd. In the front yard of the building, a MiG 21 Type-96 fighter jet was displayed. We entered the museum. There were 3D murals of important episodes in Indian Air Force history on the walls in the building's lobby. As we moved through a gallery decorated with model planes hanging from the ceiling, we reached the ticket office. We purchased immersive experience tickets along with the entry ticket which enabled us to get VR mission simulation, holographic show and fighter jet cockpit simulator experience.
Nearby ticket office cum reception, there were 2 aero engines on display. These were Soviet made engines used in fighter jets like MiG-23 BN, MiG-27 ML And MiG-27 UPG. A little past these in the open were 4 Pechora missiles mounted on transportation supports. After walking a little and turning right from the corner, we saw a huge MiG-23 parked in the open along with its engine. I have attached my picture with the jet for size comparison.
Then we entered the indoor museum which was the main attraction. Displays of wall murals, paintings and historical pictures of Indian Air Force were all around. Historical battles like 1948 Indo- Pak War, The battle of Poonch 1947,1971 Karachi Harbour attack, 1971 Tangail Airdrop were described using 3D models and audio visual story telling. An HAL HPT-32 Deepak trainer aircraft was also displayed inside the museum.
Moving further, there were uniforms, badges and other items used by late IAF personnel. Historical pictures of important anecdotes from IAF history were also there. Then we moved to the next section where different missiles like Brahmos, Hammer, Astra, Pralay, Rudram were displayed along with 3D scale models of fighter jets currently in use. A big wall mural of achievements of women IAF personnel was also there to highlight the gender diversity in the forces.
Then we reached another section where we saw a short film and a hologram show on IAF's capabilities and assets. Then a Virtual Reality(VR) mission experience along with fighter jet cockpit takeoff and landing simulator experience was provided. We also got to sit in a real MiG 21 cockpit and it was bewildering to say the least.
Overall it was an amazing experience to get in depth knowledge about the IAF. We got a real hand experience of the reasons why IAF is amongst the elite forces of the world. If you into defence affairs, you must visit this museum. An in person experience far outweights the pictures shown here.
Thanks for your valuable time. It's all for now. Signing off.
May the gods watch over you !