In this episode, we interview amateur IAF historian and author KS Sreekumar Nair. "Sree" wrote "The Forgotten Few: The Indian Air Force's Contribution in the Second World War" which was published by Harper Collins in 2019, and has just recently released "December In Dacca: The Indian Armed Forces and the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War".  We talk about the history of military aviation in the Indian sub-continent, Indians flying in the RFC and RAF, the first officers and men selected for the...

This episode provides a very different perspective on military aviation: the home front. In a conversation with 3 wives of military aviators, we understand how they deal with frequent moves, children's education, sacrificing their careers, and the ever present danger in their husband's professions. The interview features  Mrs. Sharmila Roychowdhury, whose husband, DR Roychowdhury, died in an aircrash in 1997 (http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/14678); Mrs. Sheela Jaywant, whose...

In Part 2 of our interview with Air Mshl Raghu Nambiar, we discuss his legendary exploits with the Mirage 2000, the Litening Targeting Pod and Laser Guided Bombs in Kargil.  View the footage of his LGB drop here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-9bs3HCqfQ Air Marshal Nambiar's profile is here: http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/16378

Another episode you've been waiting for! Air Marshal Raghu Nambiar, an experimental test pilot with many years of operational experience on the Mirage 2000, joins us for an in-depth conversation on that exciting aircraft.  He was also closely involved with the prototype develop of the LCA, was one of the first two test pilots who flew the first prototype, and saw it reach operational status during his service - in this interview we cover his experiences with the LCA Tejas too.  In Part 2,...

In this episode, we interview Wg. Cdr. (Retd) BS Singh Deo, VM, a veteran helicopter pilot with the Indian Air Force, Pawan Hans and later Bell Helicopters. He speaks of his experiences as a young Mi-4 pilot supporting the Army in western Rajasthan during the 1971 war, flying the Mi-4, Chetak, Mi-8, Mi-17 and Westland WG-30, becoming a test pilot, becoming an A-1 instructor and examiner, and much more.  Wg. Cdr. Singh Deo's profile can be found here:...

In this week's interview (our 52nd! Thank you!), we return to the sea and the Indian Navy's sub-hunting ASW fleet of Kamov helicopters with Rear Admiral Sanjay Vadgaokar. He describes flying this odd looking aircraft, how detecting and destroying submarines works, and the selection of the Kamov 31 Airborne Early Warning (AEW) Helicopter. He was commissioned into the Navy in 1975, flew over 5,000 hours, and his last aviation related post was ACNS (Aviation).

This is the episode you've all been waiting for! We interview Air Cmde NS Jamwal, a test pilot who trained on the Su-30K, then converted to the Su-30MKI and commanded the first squadron. He was also the designated demo pilot of that aircraft. Air Cmde Jamwal's profile can be found here: http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/17156 A flying demo of the Su-30MKI featuring the Loop, Tumble and Yaw can be seen here: https://youtu.be/xeLkzJ9nk7I

This week, we speak to a veteran of the IAF's transport fleet - light, medium and heavy transport aircraft like the Dakota, Dornier-228, HS-748, AN-32 and IL-76, Gp Capt RK Sharma. He was an instructor and examiner on many of these types, and landed the first Dornier 228 at Leh and Thoise, far in excess of the aircraft manufacturer's published limits of performance.  Gp Capt Sharma's profile can be found here: http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/16050 More about the Do-228 can be...

In the final interview of the series on the LCA Tejas, we interview Wg. Cdr. Rajiv Kothiyal, KC, the test pilot who was at the controls at the first flight of the aircraft. Trained at the USAF Test Pilot's school at Edwards Air Force Base, Wg. Cdr. Kothiyal was awarded a Kirti Chakra for the first flight, and the prestigious Ivan C. Kinchloe Award for outstanding professional accomplishment in the conduct of flight testing by the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, SETP.  A full video of...

Part 2 of the interview on the LCA with Cmde Jaideep Maolankar focuses on the requirements, challenges and journey of the Naval version of the LCA.  View a video of his first deck landing here: https://youtu.be/WgcAQrTvs8g And the first takeoff here: https://youtu.be/Iw6tLOMZzbI

Former Guest and Naval Fighter / Test pilot Cmde Jaideep Maolankar joins us for the last few episodes on the LCA. In his usual lucid style, he speaks about his experiences test flying the LCA, how he leveraged his experience of the Limited Upgrade of Sea Harrier (LUSH) program for integrating the Derby missile on the Tejas, and the essence of flying demonstrations, especially the Bahrain flying demo that can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W23mLABs5o More about the LCA project...

Continuing our miniseries on the LCA Tejas, we change gears slightly to interview Wg. Cdr. PK Raveendran, SC, a past guest on the program. Wg. Cdr. Raveendran was the Flight Test Director at the time of the LCA's first flight, and for many years thereafter.  The full video of the LCA first flight, where he was the Flight Test Director who gave the "Clear to Go" command, can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_7HGD61wLQ&t=388s Wg. Cdr. Raveendran's profile can be found...

In Part 4 of the miniseries on the LCA Tejas, we speak with Gp Capt Ritu Raj Tyagi, a former Jaguar pilot and test pilot who flew more than 650+ test flights on the LCA, the most by any pilot. Given his Jaguar background, he was involved with a significant portion of testing Air to Surface weapons, but also got to fire many Air to Air weapons too, including this breathtaking dual firing at Iron Fist 2013, which he describes in the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXGV9o8L_sY Gp...

In Part 3 of the miniseries on the LCA Tejas, we speak with Air Cmde Harish Nayani, a past guest on the program. He talks about the first flight of PV-3, developing the MFDs for the Tejas, demonstrating the aircraft at Aero India, and firing the R-73 All Aspect Air to Air Missile.  Air Cmde Nayani's profile can be found here: Air Cmde Nayani's bio can be seen at this link: http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/17135

In Part 2 of our series of interviews on the LCA Tejas, we speak with Gp Capt Suneet Krishna, a test pilot who was in the rear seat of the chase aircraft and filmed the first flight. He went on to participate extensively in the testing of the LCA, survived a dangerous dual hydraulic failure, performed various trials such as formation flying, carefree maneuvering, firing various weapons such as R-73 Air to Air missile using a Helmet Mounted Display, and firing a Laser Guided Bomb. Gp Capt...

In Part 1 of a miniseries on the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), christened Tejas, we speak to Air Marshal Philip Rajkumar, PVSM, AVSM, VM, who was closely involved with the development of the aircraft in multiple roles, most importantly as head of the National Flight Test Centre (NFTC) that was dedicated to the flight testing of the aircraft. Air Mshl Rajkumar co-authored an authoritative book on the project, "Tejas: Radiance in Indian Skies", produced by Desidoc, which can be ordered here or...

We return to one of our earliest guests, Air Mshl Philip Rajkumar, PVSM, AVSM, VM. His episode on the Sargodha raid during the India-Pak war of 1965 was covered here and remains the most popular Blueskies episode to date. In this episode, we discuss his test flying career, including training at EPNER, France, test flying early versions of the MiG-21, various evaluation trials he participated in, such as MiG-23, Advanced Jet Trainer, etc. Our interview continued into his involvement with,...

We interview AVM (Retd) SC Chafekar, AVSM, SC. He speaks about his initial journey into the Air Force, flying Otters single pilot in the North East, an incident where his AN-32 was hit by a Stinger missile, and how he planned and executed the first-ever landing of an AN-32 in Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO), Fukche and Nyoma ALGs in Ladakh. He also speaks about the IAF's HADR (Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief) operations, induction of the C-17, C-130 and more.  AVM Chafekar's profile is...

We interview Wg. Cdr. PK Raveendran, a Flight Engineer on board the ill-fated TU-124 "Pushpaka" which crashed in Jorhat with the Prime Minister on Board. In addition to the crash, he talks of his career as a Flight Engineer on Packets, becoming a Flight Test Engineer in France, and more.  Wg. Cdr. Raveendran's profile can be found here: http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/12821 His account of the Pushpaka crash is here:...

1971 war veteran Air Vice Marshal Jagbir Singh recounts his experiences operating hunters from Jaisalmer. He talks of hitting tanks in Longewala, hitting the Sui Gas Plant, hitting a tank train carrying Pakistan's strategic reserve, and more...  AVM Jagbir Singh's profile can be found here: http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/5783 More about Longewala is here: http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/history/1971war/1282-kukke-suresh.html and here:...

In a long but fascinating interview with Cmde Jaideep "Mao" Maolankar, we discuss Naval Aviation and how it is different from the Air Force or Army Aviation, his path into that branch of the Navy, his initial training and experiences flying the Sea Harrier, Dissimilar Combat (DACT) with the Air Force's TACDE ("Top Gun" school),  becoming a test pilot, flight testing the MiG-29, integrating new systems into the Sea Harrier, and his initial involvement with the LCA.  In another interview that...

In this episode, we interview Wg. Cdr. Vinayak Davray, who was commissioned as a Navigator into the Indian Air Force in 1963. After a long a successful career on Dakotas and Canberras, he moved to civil aviation, where he played a key role in the growth of Civil Aviation Departments of several countries around the world. He also trained as an Aircraft Accident Investigator in the US, and led / participated in several important accident investigations. His profile may be found here:...

In this episode, we interview Air Marshal Sumit Mukherji, who is perhaps one of the few officers to have commanded and actively flown every type of MiG in the Indian Air Force's inventory - MiG-21, 23, 25, 27 and 29. In this interview, among other things, he talks about force landing a Kiran with a seized engine, flying the MiG-25 Foxbat, and commanding a MiG-29 Fulcrum squadron.  Air Marshal Mukherji's profile can be found here: http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/12925 His...

The induction of a new aircraft is always an interesting phase in military aviation. In this episode we speak to Air Cmde Harish Nayani, a test pilot who participated in the significant upgrade to the MiG-21 BIS that resulted in the MiG-21 Bison and was one of the first officers to command a Bison squadron. Through this interview, we will learn about how such upgrades are planned and executed.  Air Cmde Nayani's bio can be seen at this link:...

In this episode we return to that versatile deep penetration strike platform of the IAF, the Jaguar, with AVM Sunil Jayant Nanodkar. In 2003, AVM Nanodkar led a contingent of 6 Jaguars to Alaska to participate in exercise Red Flag with friendly NATO forces. He speaks this, and other experiences in his long career in the Air Force in this interview. AVM Nanodkar's profile can be found here: http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/16555 More about Red Flag can be found here:...