WFlying Officer Anjali Gupta was an Indian Air Force (IAF) officer who served in Air Force from 2001 to 2006. She was the first female officer in India and in the Air Force to be court martialled. She was working at the Aircraft Systems and Testing Establishment in Bangalore.
WAir Marshal Vinod Bhatia, PVSM, AVSM, VrC and Bar is a retired Indian Air Force officer. He is also known as 'Jimmy'.
WAir Chief Marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne, PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC also known as "Charlie" Browne, is a former Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) of the Indian Air Force. He served in this position from 31 July 2011 to 31 Dec 2013. Browne served as India's Ambassador to Norway from August 2014 to April 2016.
WFlight Lieutenant Avani Chaturvedi is an Indian pilot from Rewa district, Madhya Pradesh. She was declared as the first woman combat pilot along with two of her cohorts, Mohana Singh Jitarwal, and Bhawana Kanth. The trio was inducted into the Indian Air Force fighter squadron in June 2016. They were formally commissioned by then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on 18th June 2016, to serve the nation.
WRam Nath Chawla was an Indian pilot who in March 1930, in an attempt to win a flying competition set by the Aga Khan, was the first Indian to fly an aircraft from India to England. He was the main pilot of a de Havilland Gipsy Moth and was accompanied by 17-year-old Aspy Merwan Engineer, his co-pilot. The journey took 17 days. However, he did not win the competition as the rules stated that the flight needed to be completed solo.
WAir Marshal Shirish Baban Deo, PVSM, AVSM, VM, VSM, ADC was the Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS) of the Indian Air Force. He assumed the office of Vice Chief on 31 December 2016 from Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa and served in the same capacity till his retirement on 30 September 2018.
WSquadron Leader Ajjamada Boppayya Devayya MVC is the only Indian Air Force Officer to be posthumously awarded the Maha Vir Chakra (MVC). The Maha Vir Chakra is the second highest wartime gallantry award and is less in precedence only to the Param Vir Chakra. During the 1965 India-Pakistan War, Sqn Ldr A B Devayya was part of a strike mission when he was attacked by an enemy aircraft. He shot down the enemy pursuer's plane but in the process his aircraft was damaged and he went missing. Presumably he died in Pakistani territory. 23 years later, in 1988, he was posthumously awarded the retrospective MVC award for this feat in the 1965 conflict.
WAir Marshal Hari Chand Dewan, PVSM was an Indian Air Force officer. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1972 for his services at the head of the Eastern Air Command in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
WWing Commander Shaliza Dhami is an officer in the Indian Air Force (IAF). She was commissioned in Air Force on 3 December 2003. She belongs to Ludhiana, Punjab and holds a Bachelor of Technology degree in Electronics and Communication. In August 2019 she became a Flight Commander, the first woman officer in India to do so. She is a flight commander of a Chetak helicopter unit at Hindan Air Force Station. She also became the first woman flying instructor of the IAF for Chetak and Cheetah helicopters; this makes her the first woman flying instructor in the IAF. Her first solo flight was in 2003 in a HAL HPT-32 Deepak. She was born in Ludhiana, Punjab. Dhami also is the first woman officer to be given permanent commission with the Indian Air Force, which occurred in 2019.
WAir Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, VM, ADC was the 25th Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force and served from 31 December 2016 to 30 September 2019. Dhanoa also served as the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee.
WAir Marshal Ravinder Kumar Dhir PVSM,AVSM, VM,ADC is an advisor to Gujarat state for 'Defence and Aerospace Industries'. He was Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C), South Western Air Command of the Indian Air Force from 1 June 2015 to 29 September 2018. He took over from Air Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa and was succeeded by Air Marshal Harjit Singh Arora.
WRobert Francis Thomas "Bob" Doe, was a British fighter pilot and flying ace of the Second World War. He flew with the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain, and was seconded to the Indian Air Force during the Burma campaign.
WAir Marshal Aspy Merwan Engineer DFC was an officer in the Indian Air Force who rose through the ranks to become independent India's second Chief of the Air Staff, succeeding Subroto Mukerjee in 1960 and preceding Arjan Singh.
WSuresh Kalmadi is an Indian politician and senior sports administrator. He was formerly a member of the Indian National Congress. He was a member of parliament from Pune till May 2014. He is alleged to have been involved in corrupt practices in relation to the 2010 Commonwealth Games during his tenure as president of Indian Olympic Association and chairman of Common Wealth Games 2010. He was charged with conspiracy, forgery, misconduct and under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and later arrested for the same in April 2014, but as has yet not faced trial. In December 2016, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) named Suresh Kalmadi as its lifetime patron. However, he refused to accept the post until he was able to clear his name.
WBhawana Kanth is one of the first female fighter pilots of India. She was declared as the first combat pilot along with two of her cohort, Mohana Singh, and Avani Chaturvedi. The trio was inducted into the Indian Air Force fighter squadron in June 2016. They were formally commissioned by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. After the government of India decided to open the fighter stream in India Air Force for women on an experimental basis, these three women were the first to be selected for the program.
WAir Chief Marshal Lakshman Madhav Katre, PVSM, AVSM and Bar was the head of the Indian Air Force from 1984 to 1985, as Chief of the Air Staff —and the second IAF Chief of Staff to die in— harness. He was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and Bar. He completed his schooling from The Doon School, Dehradun, India. In his career in the lAF, he has commanded with distinction Operational Squadrons and Squadrons and stations and the Air Force Academy. During 1971 war he successfully conducted uninterrupted operations from one of our most forward airfields and one, which was regularly attacked by the P AF. This was due to his meticulous planning.
WMohammad Asghar Khan, was a Pakistani politician and an autobiographer, later a dissident serving the cause of pacifism, peace, and human rights.
WAir Chief Marshal Srinivasapuram Krishnaswamy PVSM, AVSM, VM & Bar, ADC is a former Air Officer in the Indian Air Force (IAF). He served as the 19th Chief of the Air Staff from 2001 to 2004. He raised the first electronic warfare squadron in the Indian Air Force. He has the rare distinction of having commanded three operational commands of the IAF - the Western, South-Western and Central Air Commands.
WAir Chief Marshal Denis Anthony La Fontaine was the 13th Chief of Air Staff of the Indian Air Force from 3 July 1985 to 31 July 1988.
WAir Chief Marshal Pratap Chandra Lal, DFC was the Chief of Air Staff (CAS) of the Indian Air Force during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971. He served in the IAF from 1939 until his retirement in 1973. He was the CAS at the time of Operation Chengiz Khan, the preemptive strikes that were carried out by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) that marked the formal initiation of hostilities of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
WAir Chief Marshal Idris Hasan Latif was a former Air Officer in the Indian Air Force. He served as the 10th Chief of Air Staff (CAS) of the Indian Air Force (IAF) from 1978 to 1981.
WFlt Lt Lawrence Frederic Pereira was an Indian air force officer. He was the recipient of the Vir Chakra, India's gallantry award presented for acts of bravery in the battlefield.
WZafar Mahmud was a Royal Indian Air Force officer during the Second World War, originally stationed in Burma and subsequently stationed in Quetta from 1945 to 1947 before the partition of British India. He was sent to England a number of times to train with the Royal Air Force just before and after the war.
WAir Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major, PVSM, AVSM, SC, VM, ADC served as the 21st Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force, taking office on 1 April 2007, and becoming the first helicopter pilot in the service to be promoted to the office of Chief. He retired on 31 May 2009, and was succeeded in office by Air Chief Marshal P V Naik.
WWing commander Karun Krishna 'Jumbo' Majumdar, DFC & bar was an officer in the Indian Air Force. He was the first Indian to reach the rank of Wing Commander.
WRavish Malhotra is a retired Air Commodore of the Indian Air Force. He was an Air Force test pilot stationed at the test centre in Bangalore. He was also the Air Officer Commanding of Hindon Air Force Station near Delhi.
WMan Mohan Singh, also spelled Manmohan Singh, was an early Indian aircraft pilot who, in 1930, was the first Indian to fly solo from Croydon Airport, England, to Karachi, India.
WAir Chief Marshal Hrushikesh Moolgavkar, PVSM, MVC was a former Air officer in the Indian Air Force. He served as the 9th Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force from 1 February 1976 till 31 August 1978.
WAir Marshal Subroto Mukerjee, OBE was the first Indian Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the Indian Air Force. His career spanned almost three decades and had been awarded with many honours until his untimely demise in 1960. He has been called the "Father of the Indian Air Force".
WAir Chief Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik, PVSM, VSM served as the 22nd Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force. He took office on 31 May 2009 following the retirement of Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major and was succeeded in office by Air Chief Marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne.
WSquadron Leader Rajesh Pilot ; was an Indian politician, a minister in the Government of India and a former Indian Air Force officer. He belonged to the Indian National Congress party and represented the Dausa constituency in Lok Sabha. His original name was Rajesh Bidhuri. He died in a road accident, a few days after filing a nomination to contest as the president of the Congress party.
WSquadron Leader Mohinder Singh Pujji DFC, also known as Mahinder Singh Pujji, was a distinguished Royal Air Force fighter pilot and one of the first Indian Sikh pilots to volunteer with the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. He is one of the few Indian pilots to have also served in all three major theatres of the Second World War.
WAir Chief Marshal Arup Raha, PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC was the 24th Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force and served from 31 December 2013 to 31 December 2016. He was also the Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee, a post occupied by India's senior-most military officer, who advises the government and ensures jointsmanship in the armed forces.
WPalamadai Muthuswamy Ramachandran, PVSM, AVSM, SC, VM is a retired Indian Air Force officer.
WFlying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon, PVC was an officer of the Indian Air Force. He was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest military decoration during war time, in recognition of his lone defence of Srinagar Air Base against a PAF air raid during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. He is the only member of the Indian Air Force to be honoured with the PVC.
WWing Commander Rakesh Sharma, AC is a former Indian Air Force pilot who flew aboard Soyuz T-11 on 3 April 1984 with the Interkosmos programme. He is the only Indian citizen to travel in space, although there have been other astronauts with an Indian background who were not Indian citizens.
WAir Chief Marshal Dilbagh Singh, PVSM, AVSM, VM was the head of the Indian Air Force from 1981 to 1984, as Chief of the Air Staff. He was the second Sikh to hold that position.
WAir Vice Marshal Harjinder Singh, PVSM, MBE was an Air Officer in the Indian Air Force. He was one of the earliest to join the newly-created Indian Air Force (IAF) in 1933 in the lowest rank of 'Hawai sepoy'. In a career spanning over three decades and two wars, he rose from the lowest enlisted rank to the then second-highest rank in the Indian Air Force. Hailed as technical wizard and innovator, he is considered a legend of the IAF.
WAir Commodore Jasjit Singh, AVSM, VrC, VM was an Indian military officer, writer, military strategist, and air commodore in the Indian Air Force. He retired as Director of Operations of the Air Force but remained head of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (1987-2001). He was founder-director of the Centre for Air Power Studies, based in Delhi. He was awarded the Vir Chakra during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
WAir Vice Marshal Suryakant Chintaman Chafekar AVSM, Shaurya Chakra is a retired Indian Air Force (IAF) officer who served as the Senior Air and Administration Staff Officer, Maintenance Command, IAF, from 1 July 2016 until he retired on 30 September 2017. He was the commanding officer of No. 48 Squadron IAF. During his career he landed Antonov An-32 aircraft on High Altitude Advanced Landing Grounds (HAALG)s in Daulat Beg Oldi, Fukche and Nyoma.
WSachin Ramesh Tendulkar is a former Indian international cricketer who was also the captain of the Indian national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the highest run scorer of all time in International cricket. Considered as the world's most prolific batsman of all time, he is the only player to have scored one hundred international centuries, the first batsman to score a double century in a One Day International (ODI), the holder of the record for the most runs in both Test and ODI cricket, and the only player to complete more than 30,000 runs in international cricket.
WWing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman VrC is an Indian Air Force fighter pilot who, during the 2019 India–Pakistan standoff, was held captive in Pakistan for 60 hours after his aircraft was shot down in an aerial dogfight.