Squadron Leader Kandengalam Nelliseri Santosh (20674) Aeronautical Engineering (Electronics) was commissioned on 11 Mar 1991 in the Engineering branch of the IAF. During his service career he has held the important appointments including that of Software Engineer at Software Development Institute and Software Specialist in Su-30 Project Team, Moscow. He has been commended by AOC-in-C, WAC in 1995. Presently, he is attached to Defence Avionics Research Establishment (DARE), DRDO as Project Manager, Su-30 MKI.

As Project Manager, Sqn Ldr Santosh is responsible for carrying out tasks pertaining to avionics integration of Su-30 MKI aircraft. Besides being responsible for managing the overall programme, he has also taken a lot of initiative and participated in various design and developmental tasks in the areas of Mission Computer (MC) and Display Pro-

cessor (DP) software, firmware and hardware. He has been awarded laboratory awards in two successive years for his contribution in the fields of DP software, EW system trials and MiG-27 upgrade programme.

In his two years tenure at DARE, DRDO the officer has made noteworthy contribution in the avionics upgrade for fighter aircraft in general and a special task assigned on Su-30 MKI programme in particular. This special project called CUBIC, initiated at the behest of the Chief of Air Staff, was extremely challenging and had to be completed in a very tight time schedule. He had to tackle multifarious design issues pertaining to mechanical, electrical and software aspects on the MC of Su-30 MKI. The work carried out by him has been highly professional and of great quality. The project, which has been successfully completed in record time, will result in cost savings amounting to several crores, due to the indigenisation.

For his distinguished service of a high order, the Hon'ble President is pleased to award 'Vishisht Seva Medal' to Squadron Leader Kandengalam Nelliseri Santosh.