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Sreekumar Prabhakaran
Sreekumar Prabhakaran | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Kannur, Kerala |
| Allegiance |  India |
| Service/ |  Indian Air Force |
| Years of service | 22 December 1983 - 31 December 2022[1] |
| Rank |  Air Marshal |
| Service number | 17318[1] |
| Unit | No. 45 Squadron |
| Commands held | Western Air Command Air Force Academy Surya Kiran |
| Awards | Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Vayu Sena Medal |
Air Marshal Sreekumar Prabhakaran, AVSM, VM is an officer in the Indian Air Force. He is currently serving as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Air Command. He assumed the office on 1 March 2022. Previously, he served as the Commandant of Air Force Academy, Dundigal.[2][3]
Early life and education[edit]
Sreekumar Prabhakaran is a native of Kannur, Kerala. He is a graduate of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and an alumnus of the prestigious National Defence Academy, Khadagwasla and National Defence College, New Delhi.[4][1][5]
Career[edit]
Sreekumar Prabhakaran was commissioned as a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force on December 22, 1983 from Air Force Academy, Dundigal. He has flying experience of over 4,800 hours on a variety of fighter aircraft and has commanded the venerable Surya Kiran display team.[6][1]
Sreekumar Prabhakaran has commanded the Surya Kiran display team and under him the team has participated in over 150 accident free public display. The team was awarded the Chief of Air Staff's Unit Citation under his command.[6][7]
With a long career of 37 years. He has served as senior directing staff (Air) at DSSC, Wellington and has commanded two flying bases. He also served as the Defence Attache at Cairo, Egypt from 2007 to 2010.[4][8]
He served as the Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) of South Western Air Command.[9] He also served as Director General (Flight Inspection & Safety)[1][10][11]
He assumed the charge of Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Air Command on 1 March 2022 succeeding Air Marshal Amit Dev.[12]
Honours and decorations[edit]
During his career, Sreekumar Prabhakaran has been awarded the Vayu Sena Medal (VM) in 2005 and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2022.[13]
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| Ati Vishisht Seva Medal | Vayusena Medal |
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Air Marshal Sreekumar Prabhakaran". Bharat Rakshak. 2021-08-01.
- ↑ "AIR MARSHAL S PRABHAKARAN ASSUMES COMMAND OF IAF'S WESTERN AIR COMMAND" (Press release). PIB. 2022-03-01.
- ↑ "Air Marshal Prabhakaran takes charge of IAF Academy | Hyderabad News - Times of India". The Times of India. TNN. Nov 2, 2021. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Air Marshal Sreekumar Prabhakaran VM takes over as senior Air Staff Officer HQ SWAC". Connect Gujarat. 2019-11-06.
- ↑ "Kannur native takes over as chief of Western Air Command". The Hindu. 2022-03-02.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "CAW gets a new commandant". Hans India. 2014-12-03.
- ↑ "Air Marshal Sandeep Singh takes over the command as AOC-in-C SWAC". Connect Gujarat. 2021-05-01. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
- ↑ "Sreekumar Prabhakaran to head college of Air Warfare". Deccan Chronicle. 2014-12-02.
- ↑ Desk, Connect Gujarat (2019-11-06). "Air Marshal Sreekumar Prabhakaran VM takes over as senior Air Staff Officer HQ SWAC". connectgujarat.com. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
- ↑ @PIBAhmedabad (2019-11-06). "Air Marshal Sreekumar Prabhakaran VM took over as the Senior Air Staff Officer of Headquarter South Western Air Command on 04 Nov 2019" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ↑ "Training Command - BR". Bharat Rakshak. 2021-08-01.
- ↑ "Air Marshal S Prabhakaran to take over as new Western Air Commander". ANI. 2022-02-25.
- ↑ "President approves 384 Gallantry Awards and other defence decorations to Armed Forces personnel on Republic Day". PIB. 2022-01-25.
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Amit Dev |
Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Air Command 1 March 2022 – 31 December 2022 |
Succeeded by Pankaj Mohan Sinha |
| Preceded by Sanjeev Kapoor |
Commandant – Air Force Academy 1 November 2021 – 28 February 2022 |
Succeeded by B Chandra Sekhar |
| Preceded by Balabhadra Radha Krishna |
Senior Air Staff Officer - South Western Air Command 4 November 2019 – 31 October 2021 |
Succeeded by Sujeet Pushpakar Dharkar |
| Preceded by Sardar Harpal Singh |
Director General - Inspection and Flight Safety 1 June 2019 - 31 October 2019 |
Succeeded by Manavendra Singh |