Twenty-five officers, including three Coast Guard, joined the Aviation branch after successfully passing out from the Naval Institute of Aeronautical Technology (NIAT) at Southern Naval Command here today.
Rear Admiral Suresh Kumar Grewal, Flag Officer Sea Training, Southern Naval Command, reviewed the passing out parade, held at the Naval Base and gave away the awards.
Lt Bharat Kumar and SLt Kashish Gaur were awarded Trophies for standing first in overall order of merit amongst Air Electrical and Engineering Officers respectively, a Navy release said.
Director General Coast Guard trophy for best all round officer of the course was awarded to Lt Amrinder Singh.
Vendurthy Shield was awarded to Lt Anand V and Lt Deepak Krishna for Best Air Technical Project.
The officers underwent 52 weeks of intensive training in advanced aeronautic subjects besides practical training on various types of aircraft as part of the course.
The officers have been appointed to frontline squadrons at air stations and on completion of On Job Training (OJT) would be eligible for award of M Tech degree under the aegis of Cochin University of Science and Technology.
Rear Admiral Grewal said Naval Aviation has evolved over the last six decades. State-of-the-art flying machines like MiG 29K, Boeing P8I, Hawk AJT have been inducted, and Light Combat Aircraft (LCA-Navy) and Multi Role Helicopter (MRH) are likely to be inducted.
The Naval air arm is expected to grow into a 500 aircraft force, larger than most of the Air forces in the world,he said.
Commodore Sanjeev Dureja, Director NIAT, conducted the parade.
NIAT is the largest Aeronautical Training Establishment in the country and is recognized as 'Centre for Aeronautical Science and Technology' by Cochin University of Scienceand Technology.
