President Confers Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry) on Wing Commander Akshay Arun Mahale (29451) Flying (Pilot)

Wing Commander Akshay Arun Mahale (29451) Flying (Pilot) is on the posted strength of a fightersquadron.

On 26 Sep 23, he was authorised to fly a Low Level Aerobatics display sortie from front cockpit over a lake with populated area and high terrain in proximity. During the profile while positioning for a slow speed run at a height of 270 m AGL, with throttle selected to max dry power, the pilot experienced a loss of thrust with RPM stagnating at 83% and sudden rise in Turbine Gas Temperature (TGT) by 80-90° C which was way beyond the permissible limits. With only one engine available during this critical flight regime, the speed started to drop rapidly below 250 Kmph. At this stage, the ac started to lose height quickly with speed started dropping further, providing the pilot barely any time to recover the ac. Maintaining his calm composure in this grievous situation, the pilot turned away from populated area. He went against the natural instincts by descending and judiciously utilizing the meagre height available to accelerate the aircraft for engaging reheat on the serviceable engine to climb away. Had he not done so, it would have resulted in a catastrophic situation with uncontrollable yaw on the aircraft considering the critical regime of the flight. The aircraft gradually gained height and was recovered safely. In the extremely short span of time available, had there been any delay in the actions taken by the pilot or taken in any other sequence, it would have resulted in loss of life and a national asset.

During these life threatening circumstances, the pilot maintained his composure, displayed exemplary courage, leadership, presence of mind and thorough professionalism in recovering the aircraft safely. His superlative actions in handling such an unforeseen critical emergency with very little time and height available has resulted in averting the loss of a precious national asset and saved civilian life and property.

For the act of exceptional courage, Wing Commander Akshay Arun Mahaleis awarded 'Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry)'.

President Confers Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry) on 904504 Junior Warrant Officer Vikas Raghav IAF (Garud)

904504 Junior Warrant Officer (JWO) Vikas Raghav IAF (Garud) is on the posted strength of a Garud Flight.

On 15 Aug 23, when the Garud Flight was tasked for a challenging humanitarian operation in Kangra to combat severe floods, JWO Raghav volunteered to lead his team for the mission.

During the rescue and evacuation operation, the JWO winched down on a rooftop where he encountered a critical situation of a paralyzed 68 year old patient, a mother with an eight day old infant and two expectant mothers, all in urgent need of evacuation for medical attention. He prioritized their sequence of rescue. With his professionalism and quick thinking, he improvised a harness to secure the fully paralyzed patient, cradling her securely in his arms throughout the perilous winching process. He then courageously retrieved the fragile 8-day-old infant without harness to prevent any potential risk of chocking the infant in harness from the helicopter's downwash. Subsequently, he evacuated both the expectant mothers in advanced stages of pregnancy.

In another rescue sortie, he winched up four infants without harnesses, securing them with tactical belt and enveloping them in his arms. Despite the risk and complexity involved, he demonstrated exemplary bravery in rescuing the children in tandem, an act that has no standardized procedure or precedence. During the entire mission, he exhibited exemplary courage and professionalism on numerous occasions. He was instrumental in saving a total of 494 lives and was singularly responsible for bringing 152 people to safety.

For the act of exceptional courage, Junior Warrant Officer Vikas Raghav IAF (Garud) is awarded 'Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry)'.

President Confers Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry) on 931627 Sergeant Ashwani Kumar Flight Gunner

931627 Sergeant Ashwani Kumar, Flight Gunner is on the posted strength of a helicopter unit.

On 15 Aug 23, he was detailed for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations near Fatehpur in Himachal Pradesh. As briefed by the Captain, he quickly got the aircraft prepared in the necessary configuration facilitating a quick launch. At the HADR location, he assisted the Captain in assessing the type of recovery to be carried out. When landing was not feasible, he disembarked from the helicopter at low hover and assisted disabled civilians to get on board. On the second day, while carrying out a mission ex-Fatehpur, he came across survivors in an area isolated by a gushing river. He tied himself at the hard point of the helicopter and went down to last step of the ladder pulling the survivors into the helicopter. Such an act required exceptional courage as he was not trained for such a situation.

Sgt Ashwani Kumar rendered accurate guidance to the Captain during hover especially over roof tops and restricted areas, wherein the margin for error was almost non-existent. His prompt actions enabled rapid operations ensuring recovery of multiple people over a short duration. His relentless courageous efforts, valuable inputs and effective coordination with the state authorities and other rescue teams resulted in saving 510 lives including 42 by winch operations. His superlative courage and presence of mind in an adverse situation demanding critical and timely actions, were major contributing factors.

For the act of exceptional courage, Sergeant Ashwani Kumar is awarded 'Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry)'.

President Confers Shaurya Chakra on Squadron Leader Deepak Kumar (32754) Flying (Pilot)

Squadron Leader Deepak Kumar (32754) Flying Pilot is on the posted strength of AFS Hakimpet.

On 25 Aug 23, he was authorised to fly an instructional night sortie in a Kiran aircraft along with a trainee pilot. The sortie was being flown during dark night. While going around after a low overshoot, the aircraft experienced a bird hit resulting in engine flame out. At this stage of flight, the undercarriage had been retracted and was in the process of going up. He promptly assessed the situation and took a decision to force land the aircraft straight ahead. He simultaneously directed the flight cadet to lower the under carriage. Despite limited cues available in the night, he used his exceptional judgement and superlative flying skills to force land the aircraft on the runway. The available length of the runway after landing was just about 1000 feet, wherein his prompt actions of switching off, braking and engagement of arrester barrier resulted in safe stopping of aircraft, with minimum damage. These actions gain more credence considering the shorter than normal runway at Hakimpet, dark night conditions offering less cues to the pilot for force landing and in an extremely compressed time frame for reacting.

During this life-threatening situation, the officer displayed exceptional courage, perseverance and composure in recovering a gravely stricken aircraft. His undaunted courageous decision to force land the aircraft on a dark night required superlative piloting skills and exceptional situational awareness, thus ensuring the safety of a valuable national asset and precluding a probable loss of lives.

For his act of exceptional gallantry and courage, Sqn Ldr Deepak Kumar is awarded 'Shaurya Chakra'.

President Confers Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry) on Sqn Ldr Mahipal Singh Rathore (32799) Flying (Pilot)

Squadron Leader Mahipal Singh Rathore (32799) Flying (Pilot) is on the posted strength of a fighter squadron.

On 04 Jan 24, he was authorised to fly a training sortie with two 1000 pound live bombs. The aircraft was at the maximum all up weight limits. During takeoff, at the rotation speed, as he moved the control column backwards, the aircraft did not respond. His subsequent attempt was also unsuccessful. At this critical juncture, with only 2500 feet of runway remaining, he correctly decided to reject take off. In the face of imminent danger, displaying presence of mind and bravery in a tense and challenging situation in the face of perceptible threat to life, he promptly executed copy book actions. This decelerated the aircraft significantly, resulting in low speed barrier engagement followed by a quick exit procedure.

Post-flight analysis revealed an unserviceability which could have resulted in a catastrophic situation, had the pilot persisted with take-off. Despite limited experience, he displayed extraordinary courage and superlative composure in handling an unknown situation, resulting in safe recovery of the aircraft.

For the act of exceptional courage, Squadron Leader Mahipal Singh Rathore is awarded 'Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry)'.

President Confers Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry) on Wing Commander Anand Vinayak Agashe (27228) Flying (Pilot)

Wing Commander Anand Vinayak Agashe (27228) Flying (Pilot) is commanding officer of a Helicopter Unit.

On 15 Aug 23, due to heavy rains, flood gates of Maharana Pratap Sagar were opened, inundating villages of Kangra district (HP). To rescue the people stranded in the affected areas, Indian Air Force was tasked for the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations. Towards this, Wg Cdr Agashe along with his team undertook thorough and meticulous planning for such a high risk task. He also carried Garud Commandos for the envisioned winch ops which proved critical towards safe and efficient conduct of the operations. On reaching the site, he also took over the responsibility of on scene and carried out detailed coordination with the district authorities.

During aerial recce, it was found that hundreds of people were stranded in houses and roof tops in an area inundated by floods. Wg Cdr Agashe carried out precise hover over the precarious terrain which was in close proximity of HT/LT cables, microwave towers and tall trees that were swaying due to helicopter downwash, and winched up 42 marooned personnel. This rescue mission entailed prolong and precise hover over roof tops, marshy land and free air hover from heights ranging from a few feet to 40 meters above ground with the pilot and the aircraft operating at its extreme limits. Each sortie required 15 to 20 minutes of precise hover which needed high concentration for extended periods. The rescue operations also entailed low hover pick up from isolated portions of land surrounded by the raging river. This challenging task resulted in saving more lives. The survivors included heart patients, pregnant women, infants, elderly and especially abled people. During conduct of the entire mission, the officer led by example and the IAF team rescued 1002 precious lives in total. His meticulous planning, superlative flying skills, professional competence and courageous effort in the face of grave personal risk saved precious lives.

For the act of exceptional courage, Wing Commander Anand Vinayak Agashe is awarded 'Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry)'.

President Confers Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry) on Wing Commander Jaspreet Singh Sandhu (29033) Flying (Pilot)

Wing Commander Jaspreet Singh Sandhu (29033) Flying pilot is on the posted strength of a fighter squadron.

On 25 Jan 24, he was detailed to fly an Airframe and Engine Check sortie on Bison aircraft. After landing, on deployment of tail chute he experienced a vicious yaw to the right. To correct for the same, when he applied left rudder, he experienced obstruction in movement of rudder pedal, leading to a unique aerodynamic control emergency. Actions for such a control related emergency have not been envisaged. The aircraft rudder, which enables directional control in air and is coupled with braking mechanism on ground, could not be pushed beyond neutral position towards the port side even with maximum manual effort. The absence of effective directional control to port side and adverse cross wind conditions on landing roll resulted in aircraft drifting to starboard. Maintaining a calm composure, in a time critical high speed situation on landing roll, he took prompt actions of full brake application and switched off the aircraft. He successfully stopped the aircraft on right lane of the runway without any damage to the wheel brakes and tyres. Even a split second delay in any of the above mentioned actions could have led to a catastrophic outcome with the aircraft going out of runway and resulting in severe damage to the aircraft and potential injury to the pilot.

Post flight investigation revealed that, UHF antenna connector of main Radio was obstructing the link rod mechanism of rudder pedals in the Autopilot bay. Correct identification of directional control failure at a critical juncture and prompt superlative actions by the pilot ensured a safe recovery of a valuable air asset from an unprecedented challenging situation.

For the act of exceptional courage, Wing Commander Jaspreet Singh Sandhu is awarded 'Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry)'.

President Confers Shaurya Chakra on Wing Commander Vernon Desmond Keane Vm (31215) Flying (Pilot)

Wing Commander Vernon Desmond Keane Vayu Sena Medal (31215) Flying Pilot is on the posted strength of a fighter squadron.

On 24 Jul 23, during a sortie on Jaguar fighter aircraft, he experienced an unprecedented Oil 1 and Oil 2 failure warning. The warning indicated a major Oil system malfunction warranting immediate shut down of both engines to prevent their imminent seizure. Such a situation had never occurred in the past and actions for such system failure have not been envisaged. The pilot while maintaining a calm composure, decided to shut down the left engine and initiated recovery using the right engine for the closest runway. While on approach, at an altitude of 2500 feet, the right engine failed catastrophically. The aircraft was now in a powerless glide, losing altitude rapidly and approaching densely populated Gorakhpur town. Since the only serviceable engine had also seized, the situation warranted an immediate ejection. The pilot while displaying superlative flying skills, controlled the aircraft, turned away to prevent loss of civilian life and property in case of a probable ejection and jettisoned empty fuel tanks clear of populated area. He simultaneously decided to attempt relight on the left engine and successfully revived it. He then deftly controlled and recovered the aircraft safely off a single engine.

During these multiple life-threatening situations, the officer displayed exceptional courage, perseverance and composure in recovering a gravely stricken aircraft. His undaunted courageous decision to remain with the stricken aircraft while displaying superlative piloting skills and exceptional situational awareness ensured the safety of a valuable national asset and precluded a probable loss of lives and property on ground.

For his act of exceptional gallantry and courage, Wing Commander Vernon Desmond Keane VM is awarded 'Shaurya Chakra'.