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In a historic moment for India’s armed forces, the President of India has approved 127 Gallantry Awards and 40 Distinguished Service Awards on the eve of Independence Day 2025. At the heart of this recognition lies Operation Sindoor, India’s largest tri-service military retaliation in recent decades, with 26 Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel awarded gallantry medals for their role in the operation.
What makes this year’s honours especially significant is the intertwining of operational excellence with personal legacy. Among the decorated officers are Group Captain Omar Browne and Squadron Leader Mihir Vivek Chaudhari, sons of former IAF Chiefs Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne and Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari along with seven senior commanders across all Services. Their presence on the gallantry roll is a rare moment in Indian military history, underscoring the continuity of service and ethos within the Air Force.
Distinguished Service Awards for Operation Sindoor Leadership
Seven senior officers have been conferred the Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medal, awarded only three times before in India’s history for distinguished service of the most exceptional order during war or conflict. Remarkably, four of the seven recipients are from the IAF, reflecting its central role in the operation:
- Lt Gen Pratik Sharma – GOC-in-C Northern Command, Indian Army
- Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai – DGMO (now Deputy Chief – Strategic), Indian Army
- V Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh (Retd) – Former FOC-in-C, Western Naval Command
- Air Marshal Narmdeshwar Tiwari – Vice Chief of Air Staff
- Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor – AOC-in-C Southern Air Command
- Air Marshal Jeetandra Mishra – AOC-in-C Western Air Command
- Air Marshal A.K. Bharti – DGAO (now DCAS)
In addition, 13 IAF officers have been awarded the Yudh Seva Medal, including Air Vice Marshal Joseph Suares, Air Vice Marshal Prajual Singh, and Air Commodore Ashok Raj Thakur.
Operation Sindoor: India’s Retaliation with Precision and Resolve
Launched in May 2025 following the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians, Operation Sindoor marked the most coordinated tri-service strike in over two decades. Claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), a Lashkar-e-Taiba proxy, the attack triggered a decisive Indian response:
- IAF: Deep-strike missions on nine high-value terrorist targets, four inside Pakistan and five in PoK, using precision weapons without crossing the international border.
- Army: Elimination of nine major terror bases linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed, LeT, and Hizbul Mujahideen.
- Navy: Strategic surveillance and cyber operations in support of joint forces.
Notably, the IAF deployed S-400 air defence systems and other advanced platforms, ensuring zero civilian casualties from cross-border fire, a feat lauded by defence analysts as proof of India’s maturing air defence architecture. Notably, the indigenous BrahMos missiles were the game-changer armoury in India’s arsenal.
Generational Service, Exceptional Performance
Group Captain Omar Browne and Squadron Leader Mihir Vivek Chaudhari were part of the precision strike teams that carried out missions under high-threat conditions. Their decorations are not merely personal honours, but symbolic of a new generation of IAF warriors carrying forward the traditions of their fathers, both of whom once led the service.
“The presence of the sons of two former Air Chiefs among awardees is unprecedented. It reflects the IAF’s living ethos, leadership by example across generations,” noted a senior defence official.
Wartime Recognition on a Scale Not Seen Since Kargil
The gallantry list for 2025 has been described as the most extensive wartime recognition since the 1999 Kargil conflict. Alongside the Vayu Sena Medals, the honours include Vir Chakras, Yudh Seva Medals, and the rare Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medal.
Defence experts believe Operation Sindoor represents a shift in India’s military posture, assertive, strategic, and unhesitating in defending its citizens. It also demonstrates how modern warfare now blends airpower dominance, precision strikes, integrated command, and real-time intelligence across the services.
As India marks its 79th Independence Day, the recognition of Operation Sindoor’s heroes stands as a tribute to the courage, skill, and dedication of its armed forces, and to a new generation ready to uphold and advance that legacy.
Ravi Shankar
Dr Ravi Shankar has over two decades of experience in communications, print journalism, electronic media, documentary film making and new media.
He makes regular appearances on national television news channels as a commentator and analyst on current and political affairs. Apart from being an acknowledged Journalist, he has been a passionate newsroom manager bringing a wide range of journalistic experience from past associations with India’s leading media conglomerates (Times of India group and India Today group) and had led global news-gathering operations at world’s biggest multimedia news agency- ANI-Reuters. He has covered Parliament extensively over the past several years. Widely traveled, he has covered several summits as part of media delegation accompanying the Indian President, Vice President, Prime Minister, External Affairs Minister and Finance Minister across Asia, Africa and Europe.
