JAMMU, OCTOBER 12 The skies over Udhampur roared on Wednesday as fighter jets and combat helicopters of the IAF cap[1]tivated the audience with their maneuvers during an air show to mark the diamond jubilee celebra[1]tions at the headquarters of Air Officer Command[1]ing (AOC) Jammu, Kash[1]mir and Ladakh.As part of the event, a fly-past began with skydiving by a team of Akashganga from AN32 followed by air maneuvers and different formations by Jaguar, MIG29, Su-30 and Rafale aircraft, officials said. Combat helicopters like Apache, Mi-17 Slithering and Chinook also exhib[1]ited adrenaline-pumping maneuvers in the first-of[1]its-kind air show at the Ud[1]hampur Air Force Station. Air Officer Commanding[1]in-Chief, Western Air Com[1]mand, Air Marshal Sreeku[1]mar Prabhakaran lauded the role of headquarters AOC Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh for dominating the Himalayas over the past 60 years.General Officer Com[1]manding-in-Chief, northern command, Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Air Officer Com[1]manding Jammu, Kash[1]mir and Ladakh Air Vice Marshal Praveen Keshav Vohra and other senior IAF, military and civil dignitaries also attended the show. “As part of the diamond jubilee celebrations of headquarters AOC Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, the motive is dominating Hima[1]layas and that is what they have been doing for the last 60 years. AOC J&K was es[1]tablished back in 1962 and they moved here to Udham[1]pur in 1964,” Prabhakaran said.He said the headquar[1]ters AOC has worked as a link between the IAF’s Del[1]hi-based western command and the northern command of the Army. “And thanks to the head[1]quarters AOC, the northern command of the army and western command based in Delhi, we work very closely and it is this headquarters which has helped in coordi[1]nating all activities between the Army and Air Force,” the IAF western command[1]er said.He said they have also been actively involved in all the air maintenance. “We execute, especially in the northern sector that is J&K sector, Siachen Glacier. In the winter months when the roads are blocked, our brave soldiers up at the front depend on the air main[1]tenance,” he said.Prabha[1]karan said the headquar[1]ters AOC has build good liaison with the Army and the soldiers on the frontline are looked after well and all their needs, whether related to rations or ammunition, especially during the winter months are fulfilled. “And not just coordina[1]tion with the Army, head[1]quarters AOC also main[1]tains very close liaison with our civilian counterparts, whether it is the earthquake which happened in J&K earlier, floods in Srinagar and the issue which we recently had at Amarnath cave.“In all these activities, thanks to the close liaison and coordination between civil authorities and IAF through headquarters AOC, we have been able to save many lives and we are happy that during times of peace, IAF has come for the benefit of fellow country[1]men,” he said.