Two senior Indian Army officers will be conferred with the Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medal on Independence Day, officials said on Thursday.
The list of gallantry award recipients also includes four Kirti Chakras, four Vir Chakras and eight Shaurya Chakras.
Two senior Indian Army officers awarded the Sarvottam Yudha Seva Medal on Independence Day. The list of gallantry awardees includes 4 Kirti Chakras, 4 Vir Chakras, 8 Shaurya Chakras: Indian Army officials pic.twitter.com/GXvaYNhHDE
— ANI (@ANI) August 14, 2025
The Central government has conferred the Vir Chakra on nine Indian Air Force (IAF) officers for their role in Operation Sindoor. These include fighter pilots who attacked the headquarters of terrorist groups in Muridke and Bahawalpur in Pakistan as well as military installations across the border.
The awardees include Group Captain Ranjit Singh Sidhu, Manish Arora, Animesh Patni, Kunal Kalra; Wing Commander Joy Chandra; Squadron Leader Sarthak Kumar, Siddhant Singh, Rizwan Malik; and Flight Lieutenant Arshvir Singh Thakur.
According to the IAF, at least six Pakistani aircraft were destroyed during the operation. After the Param Vir Chakra and the Mahavir Chakra, the Vir Chakra is the third-highest wartime gallantry award.
Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh had earlier said that India had confirmed the shooting down of five Pakistani fighter jets and one larger aircraft, possibly an ELINT (Electronic Intelligence) or AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning and Control) platform, from a distance of about 300 km. “This is the biggest record of surface-to-air strikes that we can talk about,” he said.
The IAF chief highlighted the success of Operation Sindoor while delivering the keynote address at the 16th Air Chief Marshal L.M. Katre Memorial Lecture. He emphasised the importance of air power in modern warfare and its role in national security.
Operation Sindoor was launched on May 7 as a decisive retaliation to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives. This joint operation by the Indian armed forces targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, resulting in the killing of over 100 terrorists.
(With ANI Inputs)
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