| Details : |  Wing Commander Ranbir Singh Dagar (17844) Flying (Pilot) was commissioned on 14 Jun 1985 into the Fighter Stream. In 20 years of dedicated service, the officer has held important appointments like Flight Commander of MiG Operational Flying Training Unit (MOFTU) and of a MiG 23 BN squadron (Sqn). During Op Parakram he was Chief Operations Officer of Air Force Station Awantipur in the J & K sector. He is a Fighter Strike Leader and has graduated from the Flying Instructor School as a Qualified Flying Instructor where he had the distinction of being awarded the trophy for Best in Flying. The Officer is also a graduate of the Defence Services Staff College. He was commended by the CAS in 1998 and AOC- in - C, WAC in 2001.As Flight Commander at MOFTU for two years he prepared fighter pilots for induction into operational squadrons successfully without any accidents. In his tenure of three years as Flight Commander of a MiG 23 BN Sqn he contributed significantly in the unit achieving more than 7000 accident free sorties.On 01 Dec 2003 Wg Cdr Dagar was appointed as the Commanding Officer to raise an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Sqn. The challenging task of building up administrative infrastructure, maintenance apparatus and more importantly integrating the uninitiated members of the newly raised unit into a cohesive team was achieved by him in a short span of time. The operational capability of the unit was put to test for the first time since its inception when it participated in Exercise Gauntlet. Successful execution of all missions during the exercise and thereafter, bears testimony to the early operationalisation and professional capability of the unit. In order to improve flexibility of operational manning and employability, Wg Cdr Dagar multiskilled himself as an External Pilot in a record period of three and a half months as against 18 months stipulated by the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM).The UAVs being a new induction have been facing teething problems. Wg Cdr Dagar has been closely interacting with the OEM in resolving and giving solutions to various operational and maintenance issues like frequent unserviceability of Ground Control Stations, Special Paylond operations, (lying with Air Data Relay and Radiator problems In the Searcher UAVs, These valuable solutions have been accepted by the OHM for incorporation. The meticulous statistical records of unserviceabilities of the UAV subsystems documented by him helped to prevail upon the OEM to Increase the overall Warranty of IAF UAVs by three months and special payloads by nine months.For exceptional devotion to duty, The Hon'ble President is pleased to award 'Vayu Sena Medal' to Wing Commander Ranbir Singh Dagar. |
