The Navigation Training School (NTS) located at Air Force Station in Begumpet is set to observe its platinum jubilee on March 1 (Friday). Recognised as ‘TERNS,’ the NTS stands as one of the oldest training establishments within the Indian Air Force (IAF).
The platinum jubilee celebration will commence with a seminar on March 1, followed by an air display featuring the Akashganga Para Diving Team and the Air Warrior Drill Team on March 2 (Saturday). To pay tribute to the unit’s traditions and the contributions of veterans and senior serving officers associated with NTS, Air Marshal R. Radhish, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Training Command, IAF, will release a ‘Special Cover’ during the event.
A large number of serving and retired alumni of this prestigious institution will also attend the celebrations, said a media release. Originally established in 1946 as the Air Navigation School at the Royal Indian Air Force Station (RIAF), Tambaram, the Navigation Training School served as the Alma Mater for IAF Navigators. Beginning as a ground-focused institution, it later evolved and, post-independence, relocated to No.2 Air Force Academy, Jodhpur.
The inception of the first navigators’ course for the Indian Air Force took place here, in March 1949. In 1963, the Signallers’ Training element merged, leading to the renaming of the unit as the ‘Navigation and Signals School’. In 1967, the Navigation and Signals School (later NTS) shifted to its current location at Air Force Station, Begumpet.
