On 1 February 1971, TACDE was founded by
Wing Commander A. K. Mukherjee alongside
Squadron Leader R S Chib as Tactics and Combat Development and Training Squadron (T&CD&TS) at
Adampur,
Punjab. The formation was re-designated as TACDE in December 1972. The institution has numerous awards and honors including
Vir Chakra and
Kirti Chakra. TACDE was awarded ‘Battle Honours’ by the President of India in 1995 for its role in the Indo-Pak conflict of 1971.
TACDE fighters collision on 28 January 2023 On the morning of 28 January 2023, three TACDE pilots, including a Mirage 2000H instructor pilot, were involved in a mid-air collision involving a TACDE dual-seat Su-30MKI and a TACDE single-seat Mirage 2000H. The Mirage-2000H pilot, Wing Commander Hanumanth Rao Sarathi, was unable to eject and died in the accident, whilst the two other pilots, flying the Su-30MKI, ejected and were hospitalized with minor injuries. Both fighter jets had taken off from Gwalior for a training mission. ==Inventory==