On the 20th September 1965, as leader of a section of two Gnat aircraft, Flight Lieutenant Ajoy Kumar Majumdar was ordered to “scramble” along with two Hunter aircraft, for patrol duty over the Lahore sector. The section was surprised by four enemy Sabre jet aircraft. Acting with great presence of mind Flight Lieutenant Majumdar ordered the Hunters into a defensive turn and at the same time engaged the Sabres in an attempt to ward them off. In the ensuing battle he shot down one of the enemy aircraft.

In this combat, Flight Lieutenant Ajoy Kumar Majumdar displayed great skill and initiative in the best traditions of the Indian Air Force.

On the 15th Apr, 1989, Lieutenant Uday Kumar Sondhi was authorized to fly as No. 2 in a tactical formation. The sortie was normal till the aircraft was rolling on to finals. On attempting to roll out of the descending turn Lieutenant Uday Kumar Sondhi experienced jamming of the control column and could not roll out on finals. Showing exceptional alacrity and awareness for his level of experience he correctly operated the servodyne dump value and opened the throttle despite the critically low reaction time available. However he gained only a limited control of the aircraft and was unable to role out of the turn. Faced with the likelihood of the aircraft crashing into a populated village on the approach Lieutenant Uday Kumar Sondhi displayed exemplary courage of an extreme order in staying with the aircraft despite immense danger to himself. He used the limited control available to him to avoid the village and crashed in an open and unpopulated area thus saving a number of lives. Even after crashing, with the aircraft and his own flying clothing in flames Lieutenant Sondhi displayed a remarkable presence of mind, composure and professionalism in exhorting the civilian who arrived on the scene to come to his aid. Lieutenant Sondhi's left ankle was jammed in the crash and displaying commendable resistance to pain and with flames licking at his body he was able to drag his leg out. Literally on fire he was still able to instruct the locals in pulling him out of the burning wreckage. During his ordeal he suffered 45% severe burns and subsequently his left leg was required to be amputated below the knee.

Lieutenant Uday Kumar Sondhi, thus, displayed tremendous courage and presence of mind in a very critical situation.

During the operations against Pakistan, Squadron Leader Ranjit Dhawan was the flight commander of an operational squadron. He was also responsible for a group of 25 Gnat aircraft based at his station and had to look after the necessary coordination between the engineering and the operational personnel. He carried out a total of 44 operational missions in Gnat aircraft. He also was required to plan and coordinate the flying effort of all the aircraft under his command. Thanks to his leadership and planning, the Gnats were able to give a good account of themselves against Pakistani aircraft of superior performance. Although he himself did not shoot down any enemy aircraft, other operational pilots achieved success under his guidance and leadership. His cheerful disposition, zeal and keenness to hunt the enemy in the sky inspired the other pilots and the Ground crew under him to put in their best efforts in the operations.

During the operations against Pakistan, Pilot Officer Subramania Sankaran was recalled from leave and moved to a forward wing. He was asked to assume the responsibility of running the Daily Servicing Section at his base which housed aircraft not only from his own squadron but from other units also. The aircraft were required round the clock, starting from early morning armed patrols which had to be airborne at 0430 hours. Himself an armament officer, he went out of his way to gain a workable knowledge of the other trades and within a very short time was able to run a Daily Servicing Section in an efficient manner and to coordinate its activities in order to meet the demands from detachments in other forward bases. He was required at times to work upto 17 hours a day. For several days Pilot Officer Subramania Sankaran did not leave the Daily Servicing Section premises. In the execution of this task Pilot Officer Subramania Sankaran displayed commendable devotion to duty, great skill and good leadership. Working against many handicaps and under difficult conditions, he set an inspiring example to all those around him.

During the operations against Pakistan in December, 1971, Wing Commander Johney William Greene was commanding a Fighter Squadron. He flew a number of operational missions in the form of Combat Air Patrol, sweeps and escort. On the 4th December, 1971, while he was on Combat Air Patrol mission, two F-104 aircraft attempted to attack an airfield. Even though he was alone in the air, he took offensive action and attacked the enemy aircraft. The enemy aircraft jettisoned the tanks and armament load and engaging the reheat, retreated towards their own territory.

Throughout, Wing Commander Johney William Greene displayed courage, professional skill and devotion to duty.

During the operations against Pakistan in December, 1971, Squadron Leader Narinder Singh Verdi was serving as a senior pilot with a Fighter Squadron. On the 8th December, 1971, he went on a low level sweep mission as a number 3 in a four aircraft formation. After completion of the mission, as the formation was approaching the base, his aircraft was hit by a flock of three large birds and the aircraft including the engine was severely damaged. The wind­screen was smashed and the canopy was broken. He lost R/T contact and could see only the side of the cockpit. Despite the steady and progressive loss of engine thrust and the limited vision, he located the airfield and landed safely thus saving the valuable aircraft.

In this action, Squadron Leader Narinder Singh Verdi displayed courage, professional skill and devotion to duty.

Wing Commander Sube Singh Malik took over command of a fighter squadron in November, 1970. Throughout his stay in the Squadron, he has consistently endeavoured to improve the operational readiness of the squadron. During the India-Pakistan conflict 1971, he was required to move to the Western Sector at extremely short notice and operate detachments of the Squadron from several separate locations. All these moves were undertaken at very short notice and the detachments were operational at each of these locations immediately on arrival. Most of the moves were carried out either with very limited air transport support or none. The threat from enemy aircraft in the area in which his squadron operated was reduced almost to nil because of the activity of his unit.

Throughout, Wing Commander Sube Singh Malik displayed courage, leadership and devotion to duty.

Wing Commander Balakrishnan Suresh (16206) Flying (Pilot) was commissioned on 13 Dec 80 in the flying branch of IAF. An accomplished professional, he has over 2200 hours of fighter flying to his credit. He is a Fighter Strike Leader (FSL) with the distinction of two instructional tenures at the Tactical and Air Combat Development Establishment.

Wg Cdr Suresh was appointed the Commanding Officer of a fighter squadron on 24 Aug 98. On taking over command, he faced the twin challenges of low aircraft availability and low operational status of pilots mainly in the op and strike roles. A thorough analysis of the situation revealed that while improvement of role-qualifications was an operational necessity, resources would be hard to come by. Through a concerted and well-focused training effort, he affected a quantum jump in the status of his squadron. The squadron armament results showed a noticeable improvement under his watchful guidance.

Enhanced operational readiness saw his squadron ready and willing to go whenever called upon. He responded promptly during the mobilisation for Op Safed Sagar and the build-up during the Sri Lankan contingency. His squadron accredited itself in exemplary fashion during the annual joint Navy Air exercise off the Eastern seaboard.

The Commanding Officer had to call upon the very best of his managerial skills in juggling scarce aircraft resources. Through close interaction with his maintenance staff, he ensured maximum support for his operations. Meaningful interaction with Wing and Command staff fetched real time solutions for his operational and maintenance problems. At the same time, his humane approach towards his men and their problems resulted in a large number of meaningful welfare measures being instituted for the overall improvement of his unit.For exceptional devotion to duty, the Hon'ble President is pleased to award 'Vayu Sena Medal' to Wing Commander Balakrishnan Suresh.