New Delhi [India], August 14 (ANI): The Centre on Thursday awarded the Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry) to 26 Indian Air Force (IAF) officers and airmen for their bravery during Operation Sindoor.
The awardees include personnel who participated in missions to strike targets inside Pakistan and officers and men operating the S-400 and other air defense systems, which successfully foiled all Pakistani attacks on Indian soil.
Group Captains Ankur Hakim, Manav Bhatia, Yasir Faruqi, Varlin Bhoj, Anuraj Singh Minhas, Omar Browne, Deepak Chauhan, and Kunal Vishwas Shimpi received the Vayu Sena Medal for gallant actions on the battlefield.
Wing Commanders Joy Chandra Rupak Roy, Devendra Babasaheb Autade, Mayank Paliwal, Deepak Dogra, Ravinder Kumar, Adarsh Gupta, Abhay Singh Bhadoria, and Amandeep Singh Dihot were also honored.
Squadron Leaders Kaustubh Nalawade, Mihir Vivek Chaudhari, Rakesh Sharma, Malapati N.V. Naveen Kumar, Shubham Sharma, Aman Singh, and Gaurav Khokher received the medal, along with Flight Lieutenant Aman Singh, Sergeant A. Naveen Chandar, and Corporal Surendra Kumar.
Additionally, 13 IAF officers were awarded the Yudh Sewa Medal for their key roles in executing attacks and defending Indian airspace. The recipients include Air Vice Marshal Joseph Suares, Air Vice Marshal Prajual Singh, and Air Commodore Ashok Raj Thakur.
The honors follow Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh’s statement that India took down at least five Pakistani fighter jets during Operation Sindoor and destroyed one large aircraft from a distance of about 300 kilometers — the largest recorded surface-to-air kill in history.
“We have at least five fighters confirmed kills and one large aircraft, which could be either an ELINT (Electronic Intelligence) aircraft or an AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning and Control) aircraft, which was taken on at a distance of about 300 kilometers. This is actually the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill that we can talk about,” the IAF Chief said during the 16th edition of the Air Chief Marshal L.M. Katre Memorial Lecture on Saturday.
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 as a decisive military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people. The Indian Armed Forces targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, killing over 100 terrorists. India repelled the subsequent Pakistani retaliation and struck its airbases. (ANI)
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