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Air Marshal Balakrishnan Saju
| Service No & Branch | 18300 F(P) | Stream :Fighters |  | ||||||||||||
| Date of Birth: -- --- ---- | Commissioned: 07 Jun 1986 | Course: 137 Course | |||||||||||||
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| Google the Bharat Rakshak Website for : "B Saju" | |||||||||||||||
 Air Cmde |  Air Mshl | ||||
| Dates | Rank | Unit | Location | Appointment | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | Wg Cdr | College of Air Warfare | Secunderabad | Directing Staff | |
| 02 Aug 2004 - 04 Jun 2006 | Wg Cdr | No.32 Squadron | Jodhpur | Commanding Officer | |
| 02 Mar 2009 - 17 Apr 2011 | Gp Capt | No.50 Squadron | Agra | Commanding Officer | |
| - 14 Dec 2012 | Air Cmde | Air Head Quarters | Delhi | PD (Air Defence Ops, Weapon Sys) | |
| 25 Sep 2012 - | No.50 Squadron | Commodore Commandant | |||
| 14 Dec 2012 - 24 Aug 2014 | Air Cmde | 32 Wing | Jodhpur | Air Officer Commanding | |
| 01 Jan 2015 - 31 Dec 2015 | Air Cmde | Royal College of Defence Studies | London, UK | Staff Course | |
| 05 Aug 2015 - 31 Oct 2017 | Air Cmde | Central Air Command | Allahabad | Air-I | |
| 01 Nov 2017 - 31 Jul 2018 | Air Cmde | Air Head Quarters | Delhi | PD (AWACS) | |
| - 30 Sep 2019 | AVM | Integrated Defence Staff | New Delhi | ACIDS (Pers Plans & Force | |
| 01 Oct 2019 - | AVM | Air Head Quarters | Delhi | Assistant Chief of Air Staff, Air Defence | |
| 08 Mar 2022 - 30 Apr 2023 | Air Marshal | Training Command | Bangalore | Senior Air Staff Officer | |
| 01 May 2023 - | Air Marshal | Andaman and Nicobar Command | Port Blair | Commander in Chief | |
| Incomplete Information? Additions? Corrections? Please download Template File and follow instructions. | |||||
Awards and Decorations
Number of Awards: 2
| Vayu Sena Medal (Devotion to Duty) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gp Capt | Balakrishnan Saju | 18300 F(P) | Award Date 26 Jan 2012 | Announced 26 Jan 2012 |
| Details : | Group Captain Balakrishnan Saju (18300) Flying (Pilot) was commissioned as a pilot into the fighter stream of Indian Air Force on 07 Jun 86. He is a Fighter Combat Leader with more than2800 hours of accident free flying on many variants of MiG 21 fighter aircraft (ac) and a graduate of Defence Services Staff College. He has been the Commanding Officer (CO) of a Bison Sqn, a directing staff at College of Air Warfare and the first CO of the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) Sqn of IAF for last two years. He now stands posted as the Director Airborne Sensors and Networking at Air Headquarters. Gp Capt Saju was entrusted with the arduous task of raising one of the largest units and inducting the most complex equipment of IAF. Under his leadership, more than 70 officers and 450 air warriors from varying backgrounds amalgamated into a cohesive and operational unit, successfully inducting and operationalising the AWACS. He had the unique distinction of leading all the three acceptance teams for the AWACS and ensured compliance of all operational requirements of the contract by the vendor. Through proactive negotiations with the management, a large number of testers and spares over and above the contract were procured. Additionally, by methodical recording of all the defects, the warranty of the three AWACS has been extended for significant period, resulting in significant financial savings. The formulation of Standard Operating Procedures for different types of missions, planning and execution of more than twenty command level exercises in the area of all the operational commands of IAF, innumerable Signal Intelligence gathering missions, and drafting of Concept of Operations of this complex force multiplier have all been achieved during this period. As President of the Officers Institute, he was instrumental in upgrading the holiday home, modernizing the health club and sports facilities to befitting standards. The strong foundation laid by him, helped the Sqn undertake its multifaceted operational role efficiently, integrate into the Con ops of IAF and develop as a cohesive and professional unit. For exceptional devotion to duty, Hon'ble President is pleased to award 'Vayu Sena Medal (Devotion to Duty)' to Group Captain Saju Balakrishnan. | |||
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| Reference : Air Force Day Booklet | ||||
| Ati Vishist Seva Medal | ||||
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| AVM | Balakrishnan Saju | 18300 F(P) | Award Date 26 Jan 2021 | Announced 26 Jan 2021 |
| Details : | Citation / Details Not Available | |||
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The data in the header section of this page comes from the Gazette of India - Click here to see the source
The URL for this page is http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/18300
Note: All the data available here is publicly available in the Gazette of India, published by the Indian Government, or from public domain sources, press releases about Awards and Right-To-Information (RTI) Requests. Additionally data shared by veterans is added to the page with permission. No data with respect to serving officers below the rank of AVM is displayed. Information in Gazette of India and Award citations and photographs as released by the Indian Air Force are the only details displayed.