Air Commodore B.S. Vijay Rao assumed command of Base Repair Depot, Palam, New Delhi, as the Air Officer Commanding on Sunday, a Defence Ministry official said. Commissioned into the Aeronautical Engineering (Electronics) Branch of the Indian Air Force on 27 November 1995, Air Commodore Vijay Rao brings with him over three decades of distinguished service, said the Ministry official in a statement.
An Electrical Engineer and an Executive MBA, he is an alumnus of the prestigious National Defence College and the Army War College, it said.During his career, he has held key field, staff and Project Management appointments, including Chief Engineering Officer of a premier base.
He has also served at Air Headquarters in important appointments in the Operations, Maintenance and Plans branches, contributing to modernisation, acquisition and sustainment programmes of the Indian Air Force.The Air Officer has represented the Indian Air Force in professional assignments abroad and has been associated with major upgrade and technology transfer programmes with global aerospace organisations.
He is the recipient of the Presidential award of Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) for distinguished service, said the statement.In a separate development, Headquarters Southern Air Command (SAC) successfully conducted a high-tempo joint maritime exercise “Kalari Leap”, in the Lakshadweep and Minicoy archipelago, along with forces from Armed Forces Special Operations Division (AFSOD) and Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on February 24.
“Air Ops formed a critical component of the exercise, with employment of assets like An-32, Mi-17 V5 and Su-30MKI. The Indian Coast Guard deployed its ships and Gemini boats. Its Dornier 228 aircraft was employed for search and rescue missions and shepherding the Fighters, for the maritime strike,” said a statement.
The headquarters of Southern Air Command (HQ SAC) acknowledged the support from the Airports Authority of India (AAI), Agatti and the Union Territory of Lakshadweep (UTLA) Administration, for their support, proactive assistance and seamless facilitation, towards the successful execution of exercise “Kalari Leap”.
A Mass Casualty Management drill was conducted as a part of exercise Kalari Leap by HQ SAC on February 24. “Simulated battle casualties were evacuated from Agatti to Thiruvananthapuram by an An-32, modified in the Air ambulance role,” said a post on social media. On landing at Thiruvananthapuram, casualties were triaged, treated and evacuated to nearby military and civil hospitals, it said.