Raghunath Nambiar

Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar, PVSM, AVSM, VM & Bar, ADC is a retired officer of the Indian Air Force. He served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C), Western Air Command from 1 March 2019 to 31 October 2019.[2][3]

Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar PVSM, AVSM, VM**, ADC
Allegiance	India
Service/branch	Indian Air Force
Years of service	June 1981 - 31 October 2019
Rank	Air Marshal
Service number	16378[1]
Commands held	Western Air Command Eastern Air Command Deputy Chief of Air Staff
Awards	Param Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Vayu Sena Medal (Bar)
Spouse(s)	Luxmi

Early life and education

Raghunath Nambiar's father, Padmanabhan Nambiar, was a Squadron Leader with the Indian Air Force.[4] Nambiar is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy.[5]

Career

Nambiar was commissioned into the fighter stream in June 1981. He has clocked over 5,100 hours of flying experience among which 2,300 hours were on Mirage 2000 and has flown 42 different types of aircraft. He is an experimental test pilot, is a member of Society of Experimental Test Pilots and was a test pilot for the HAL Tejas project.[5]

He has commanded the oldest squadron in the Indian Air Force, the No. 1 Squadron, and flew over 25 operational missions in a Mirage 2000 during the Kargil war. He was the first pilot to drop laser guided bombs for the Indian Air Force. He has held other command positions including Air Officer Commanding AFS Jamnagar; Air Defence Commander of Western Air Command and Deputy Chief of the Air Staff. He has held numerous staff appointments including Director of Space Applications at Air HQ; Chief Operations Officer of AFS Gwalior; Principle Director of Offensive Operations at Air HQ; Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) of Southern Air Command; and Commandant of Aircraft System Testing Establishment (ASTE). He was also a former pilot and the commanding officer of the flight test squadron at ASTE. He was also posted at the Indian embassy in Israel as a defense attaché.[5]

Nambiar assumed office of Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Air Command on 1 October 2018 following Air Marshal Anil Khosla's elevation to the post of Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS).[5][6][7][8]

He also served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Air Command. He assumed the office on 1 March 2019 following the retirement of Air Marshal Chandrashekharan Hari Kumar and served till his superannuation on 31 October 2019.[9][2][3][10] Air Marshal Balakrishnan Suresh succeeded him.[11]

Awards and decorations

During his career, Nambiar has been awarded with numerous awards and decorations including two Vayu Sena Medals, one for Gallantry during the Kargil Operations and for flight testing the HAL Tejas (2002), the Ati Vishist Seva Medal in (2015), Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2019, and commendations from the Chief of Air Staff (1991) and C-in-C of Strategic Force Command (2005).[12][1]

Param Vishisht Seva Medal

Ati Vishisht Seva Medal

Vayu Sena Medal

Personal life

Air Marshal Nambiar is married to Luxmi Nambiar.[5] His son, Aswin Nambiar, is a commercial pilot.[13]

References

1. "411 Republic Day Gallantry and Other Defence Decorations Announced". Press Information Bureau, Government of India. 2019-01-25.
2. "Air Marshal R Nambiar PVSM AVSM VM & Bar Assumes the Command of Western Air Command as AOC-in-C". Press Information Bureau, Government of India. 2019-03-01. Retrieved 2019-03-01.
3. "Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar Retire". 2019-10-31.
4. "Kannur International Airport: Third generation pilot to land first flight". New Indian Express. 9 December 2018.
5. "Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar AVSM VM & BAR takes over Command as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Air Command". pib.nic.in.
6. "Anil Khosla takes over as Vice Chief of Indian Air Force".
7. India, Press Trust of (2018-10-01). "Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar takes over as AOC-in-C of EAC:". Business Standard India. Retrieved 2018-10-02.
8. "Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar New Chief of Eastern Air Command - The Sentinel". The Sentinel. 2018-10-02. Retrieved 2018-10-02.
9. @IAF_MCC (2019-03-01). "Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar, took over as the Air Officer Commanding in Chief (AOC-in-C) of Western Air Command (WAC) wef 01 Mar 19. Air Marshal C Hari Kumar handed over the command of WAC on his superannuation after 39 yrs of glorious service" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
10. @DefencePROPalam (2019-11-01). "Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar, AOC-in-C, WAC, hung his uniform after an illustrious career spanning over 38 years on 31 Oct 2019. He was given a ceremonial Guard of Honour at HQ WAC before he handed over charge" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
11. "Air Marshal B Suresh Assumes the Command of Western Air Command as AOC-In-C". 2019-11-01.
12. "President Confers Gallantry and Distinguished Service Awards". pib.nic.in.
13. "Son follows dad on Kannur flight saga". Deccan Chronicle. 9 December 2018.

Military offices
Preceded by Chandrashekharan Hari Kumar	Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Air Command 1 March 2019 - 31 October 2019	Succeeded by Balakrishnan Suresh
Preceded by Anil Khosla	Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Air Command 1 October 2018 - 28 February 2019	Succeeded by Rajiv Dayal Mathur
Preceded by Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria	Deputy Chief of Air Staff 1 March 2017 - 30 September 2018	Succeeded by VR Chaudhari