New Delhi

As festivities for Independence Day begin, the centre on Thursday awarded Vir Chakra to nine Indian Air Force officers for their brave contributions in the service of the nation during Operation Sindoor.

The Vir Chakra has been awarded to nine Indian Air Force officers, including fighter pilots, who targeted terrorist groups' headquarters in Pakistan's Muridke and Bahawalpur and the neighbouring country's military assets.

Group Captains (GP) Ranjeet Singh Sidhu, Manish Arora, Animesh Patni, Kunal Kalra, Wing commanders (WG CDR) Joy Chandra, Squadron Leaders (Sqn Ldr) Sarthak Kumar, Siddhant Singh, Rizwan Malik, Flight Lieutenant (FLT LT) Aarshveer Singh Thakur have been awarded Vir Chakra.

 Besides, the Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry) has been awarded to 26 Indian Air Force officers and airmen for their brave contributions in the service of the nation during Operation Sindoor.

Those being awarded the Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry) took part in missions to hit targets inside Pakistan, and officers and men operating the S-400 and other air defence systems, which foiled all attacks planned by Pakistan on Indian soil.

Group Captains (GP) Ankur Hakim, Manav Bhatia, Yasir Faruqi, Varlin Bhoj, Anuraj Singh Minhas, Omar Browne, Deepak Chauhan, and Kunal Vishwas Shimpi have been awarded the Vayu Sena Medal for their gallant actions on the battlefield.

Wing commanders (WG CDR) who have been awarded the Vayu Sena Medal are: Joy Chandra Rupak Roy, Devendra Babasaheb Autade, Mayank Paliwal, Deepak Dogra, Ravinder Kumar, Adarsh Gupta, Abhay Singh Bhadoria, and Amandeep Singh Dihot.

Squadron Leaders (Sqn Ldr) awarded the Vayu Sena Medal are: Kaustubh Nalawade, Mihir Vivek Chaudhari, Rakesh Sharma, Malapati NV Naveen Kumar, Shubham Sharma, Aman Singh and Gaurav Khokher.

Flight Lieutenant (FLT LT) along with Sergeant (Sgt) A naveen chandar, and Corporal (CPL) Surendra Kumar have been awarded the Vayu Sena Medal.

Moreover, 13 Indian Air Force officers were awarded the distinguished Yudh Sewa Medal for playing an important role in executing attacks and defending their own airspace. The officers include Air Vice Marshal Joseph Suares, AVM Prajual Singh and Air Commodore Ashok Raj Thakur.

The Indian Air Force has brought down at least six Pakistani aircraft in the action.

Vir Chakra is a military bravery award presented to wartime heroes for their gallant actions on the battlefield. It is third in line after Param Vir Chakra and Maha Vir Chakra.

List of Vir Chakra awardees

This comes after Air Chief Marshal AP Singh said that India took down at least five fighter jets of Pakistan during Operation Sindoor and downed one large aircraft which was taken on at a distance of about 300 kilometres.

He said the aircraft that was brought down "is the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill that we can talk about".

The IAF Chief, who delivered the keynote address at the 16th edition of the Air Chief Marshal LM Katre Memorial Lecture on Saturday, lauded the successful completion of Operation Sindoor, underscoring the primacy of Air Power in modern military conflicts and its significance in national security.

India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 as a decisive military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed. The Indian Armed Forces targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, leading to the death of over 100 terrorists.

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India repelled the subsequent Pakistani retaliation and pounded its airbases.