Air Marshal Pankaj Mohan Sinha,

PVSM Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: , ) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of India. It is the highest peacetime medal of the Indian Armed Forces, and is awarded for "dist ...

AVSM Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM, ) is a military award of India given to recognize "distinguished service of an exceptional order" to all ranks of the armed forces. The award is a peacetime equivalent of Uttam Yuddh Seva Medal, which is a Wartime ...

, VSM is a retired officer of the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

. He served as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C),

Western Air Command The Western Air Command (WAC) is the regional command of Indian Air Force headquartered in New Delhi. It is the largest and most important Air Command of the IAF, comprising sixteen Air Force Bases (AFBs), and is responsible for aerial defence of ...

. He took over the office on 1 January 2023, succeeding of Air Marshal

Sreekumar Prabhakaran Air Marshal Sreekumar Prabhakaran, AVSM, VM is a retired officer of the Indian Air Force. He served as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Air Command. He assumed the office on 1 March 2022 and superannuated on 31 December 2022. Prev ...

and superannuated on 31 December 2024.

Early life and education

Pankaj Mohan Sinha is a graduate of

National Defence Academy The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces. Here, cadets of the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force train together before they go on to their respective service a ...

. He is an alumnus of the

Defence Services Staff College The Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) is a defence service training institution of the Ministry of Defence, Government of India. It trains officers of all three services of the Indian Armed Forces – (Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air ...

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

Career

Pankaj Mohan Sinha was commissioned as the fighter pilot in June 1985 in the Indian Air Force. In a career spanning over 37 years, he has as more than 4,500 hours of flying experience across various aircraft. He is a Category ‘A’ Qualified Flying Instructor, Fighter Striker Leader, Instrument Rating Instructor & Examiner. He served as the Commanding Officer of No.2 Squadronin the Eastern Sector. He was also the Training Coordination Officer at the

Royal Air Force College Cranwell The Royal Air Force College (RAFC) is the Royal Air Force academy which provides initial training to all RAF personnel who are preparing to become commissioned officers. The College also provides initial training to aircrew cadets and is resp ...

, UK during the induction of the Hawk 132 Advanced Jet Trainers (AJT) into the Indian Air Force. As

Air Commodore Air commodore (Air Cdre or Air Cmde) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...

, he served as the Air Assistant to Chief of Air Staff. Later, served as the Air Officer Commanding of the 40 Wing in

Gwalior Gwalior (Hindi: , ) is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; It is known as the Music City of India having oldest Gwalior gharana, musical gharana in existence. It is a major sports, cultural, industrial, and political c ...

under

Central Air Command Central Air Command may refer to: * Central Air Command (India), one of five operational commands of the Indian Air Force * Central Air Command (Pakistan), one of five operational commands of the Pakistan Air Force *Central Air Command (Sweden), on ...

. As

Air Vice Marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries which have historical British infl ...

, he served as the Air Officer Commanding of the Composite Battle Response and Analysis Group (CoBRA-G) a key unit of Indian Air Force deals with the doctrine development, force employment and strategy. After this stint, he served as the Assistant Chief of Air Staff, Ops Offensive and then oversaw the operations of Western sector as Air Officer Commanding of the Jammu & Kashmir region. After his promotion to Air Marshal in July 2021, he served as the Director General, Air (Operations) till 31 December 2022. He took over as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief,

on 1 January 2023, succeeding of Air Marshal

on his superannuation.

Honours and decorations

During his career, Pankaj Mohan Sinha has been awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2023, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2014 and Vishisht Seva Medal in 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mohan Sinha, Pankaj Indian Air Force air marshals Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Vishisht Seva Medal Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Defence Services Staff College alumni