Kargil war hero Air Marshal Nambiar to review operational preparedness of fighting formations in Srinagar

Kargil war hero Air Marshal R Nambiar, who has been appointed as the new chief of Indian Air Force's sword arm Western Air Command (WAC), will visit Srinagar on Saturday to review operational preparedness of the fighting formations.

He will also review the recent aerial engagement between the Indian and Pakistani combat aircraft over Rajouri sector in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Air Marshal is credited for shooting five of the eight Laser Guided Bombs on the Pakistani positions during the Kargil war in 1999 from his plane. He flew the Mirage-2000 in combat during the conflict and has flown 25 operational missions.

Nambiar has the distinction of having the highest number of flying hours on the Mirage-2000 in the IAF, with over 2300 flying hours on the aircraft to his credit, and a total of 5100 hours of flying experience.

He is a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and was the Project Test Pilot for the Light Combat Aircraft "Tejas". He has commanded the oldest Squadron of the IAF, the prestigious No. 1 Squadron.

Nambiar was also awarded the Vayu Sena Medal for Gallantry by the President of India for the Kargil operations. He was awarded a Bar to the Vayu Sena Medal for flight testing the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) in 2002, during its first phase of flight testing.