Operation Sindoor: Government honours armed forces heroes with gallantry awards; check list

New Delhi: Centre on Thursday announced gallantry awards for officers of the armed forces, including those who played key roles during Operation Sindoor and subsequent clashes with Pakistan.

On the eve of Independence day, the government announced that thirteen officers of the Indian Air Force will be awarded the Yudh Sewa Medal, 26 officers the Vayu Sena Medal, and four Air Force officers along with two senior Army officers will be decorated with the Sarvottam Yudha Seva Medal.

Vayu Sena Medal

The Vayu Sena Medal will be conferred on:

• Group Captain Ankur Hakim
• Group Captain Manav Bhatia
• Group Captain Yasir Faruqi (Flying)
• Group Captain Varun Bhoj (Flying)
• Group Captain Anuraj Singh Minhas (Flying)
• Group Captain Omar Browne (Vayu Sena Medal)
• Group Captain Deepak Chauhan (Flying)
• Group Captain Kunal Vishwas Shimpi (Flying)
• Wing Commander Rupak Roy (Flying)
• Wing Commander Devendra Babasaheb Autade (Flying)
• Wing Commander Mayank Paliwal (Flying)
• Wing Commander Deepak Dogra (Flying)
• Wing Commander Ravinder Kumar (Flying)
• Wing Commander Adarsh Gupta (Flying)
• Wing Commander Abhay Singh Bhadoria (Flying)
• Wing Commander Amandeep Singh Dihot (Flying)
• Squadron Leader Kaustubh Nalawade (Flying)
• Squadron Leader Mihir Vivek Chaudhari (Flying)
• Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma (Administration/Fighter Controller)
• Squadron Leader Malapati N.V. Naveen Kumar (Flying)
• Squadron Leader Shubham Sharma (Flying)
• Squadron Leader Aman Singh (Flying)
• Squadron Leader Gaurav Khokher (Flying)
• Flight Lieutenant A. Naveen Chandar (Administration/Fighter Controller)
• Sergeant Surendra Kumar (Medical Assistant)
• Corporal Varunkumar S.

Veer Chak ra Awardees

• Group Captain Ranjeet Singh Sidhu
• Group Captain Manish Arora
• Group Captain Animesh Patnim
• Group Captain Kunal Kalra
• Wing Commander Joy Chandra
• Squadron Leader Sarthak Kumar
• Squadron Leader Siddhant Singh
• Squadron Leader Rizwan Malik
• Flight Lieutenant Arshweer Singh Thakur

Sarvotta m Yu dha Seva Medal

Four officers, including three senior Air Force officers will receive the Sarvottam Yudha Seva Medal:

• Air Staff Air Marshal Narnadeshwar Tiwari
• Western Air Commander Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra
• DG Air Operations Air Marshal Awadhesh Bharti
• Former Western Naval Commander Vice Admiral SJ Singh

In addition, two senior Indian Army officers have also been selected for the honour. Menawhile, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Tarun Sobti has been awarded the Uttam Yudh Sewa Medal

Yudh Sewa Medal

Thirteen Indian Air Force officers will also receive the Yudh Sewa Medal for distinguished service during the operation. The awardees include Air Vice Marshal Joseph Suares, Air Vice Marshal Prajual Singh, and Air Commodore Ashok Raj Thakur.

India had launched Operation Sindoor targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians and for which The Resistance Front (TRF), a front for Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), had claimed responsibility.

In coordinated action, the Indian Army carried out targeted strikes, eliminating nine terrorist bases belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The Air Force executed precision strikes on four sites inside Pakistan, while five other locations were hit in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Operation Sindoor was a tri-services mission jointly conducted by the Army, Navy, and Air Force, entirely from Indian soil.