Air Marshal Balakrishnan Suresh

PVSM Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (IAST: ) is a military award of India. It was constituted in 1960 and since then it is awarded in recognition to peace-time service of the most exceptional order and may be awarded posthumously. All ranks of the ...

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 Dis ...

, VM,

ADC ADC may refer to: Science and medicine * ADC (gene), a human gene * AIDS dementia complex, neurological disorder associated with HIV and AIDS * Allyl diglycol carbonate or CR-39, a polymer * Antibody-drug conjugate, a type of anticancer treatm ...

is a retired officer of the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

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

Western Air Command , colors= , colors_label= , battles= 1962 Sino-Indian War, 1971 India-Pakistan War, Operation Meghdoot , anniversaries= , commander1= Air Marshal Sreekumar Prabhakaran, AVSM, VM , commander1_label= Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief(AOC-in-C) , n ...

from 1 November 2019 following superannuation of Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar, till the day of his retirement on 31 July 2020.

Early life and education

Air Mshl Suresh is an alumnus of the

Rashtriya Indian Military College The Rashtriya Indian Military College (abbreviated RIMC; formerly known as Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College) is a military school for boys and girls situated in Doon Valley, Dehradun in India. The RIMC is a feeder institution for ...

Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...

National Defence Academy The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces, where cadets of the three services i.e. the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force train together before they go on ...

in Khadakwasla, Pune and the

Defence Services Staff College , motto_lang = sa , mottoeng = ''To War with Wisdom'' , established = (as the ''Army Staff College'', Deolali) , type = Defence Service Training Institute , affiliation = , endowment = , administrative_staff = , faculty = , presi ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) 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 second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

. He is a graduate of the

Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment or TACDE is an Indian Air Force unit for training aerial combat to its top one percent fighter pilots. TACDE is based in Gwalior. It was conferred Presidential standard in 2009. The institution evolv ...

, and a post-graduate from

Cranfield University , mottoeng = After clouds light , established = 1946 - College of Aeronautics 1969 - Cranfield Institute of Technology (gained university status by royal charter) 1993 - Cranfield University (adopted current name) , type = Public research uni ...

Shrivenham Shrivenham is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Faringdon. The village is close to the county boundary with Wiltshire and about east-northeast of Swindon. The 2011 Census recorde ...

, United Kingdom.

Career

Air Mshl Suresh was commissioned as a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force on 13 December 1980. He commanded No. 2 Squadron 'The Winged Arrows' as a

Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...

and

(TACDE) as a

Group Captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...

. Suresh also commanded a strategic fighter base as an Air Commodore. Air Mshl Suresh has held other positions including joint director and director for air staff inspection, Director Operations (Joint Planning), directing staff and commandant of TACDE, air assistant to the Chief of the Air Staff, Assistant Chief of the Air Staff Operations (Air Defence), senior air staff officer at the

and Air Officer-in-Chief Personnel at Air Headquarters. He served as Air Officer Commanding in Chief, Southern Air Command from 1 August 2018 taking over from

Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria (born 15 September 1959), is a retired Indian Air Force officer, who served as the Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force, having assumed office on 30 September 2019 after the retirem ...

, till 30 October 2019.

Awards and medals

Air Mshl Suresh was awarded

Vayu Sena Medal The Vayu Sena Medal is a military decoration, usually awarded in peacetime for a job well done in the Indian Air Force. However, it has been granted during times of conflict for acts of gallantry in the face of enemy, though not in the same numb ...

in 2001 and

Ati Vishisht Seva Medal 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 Dis ...

as a Group Captain in 2005. He is probably one of youngest officers to be awarded the presidential award of AVSM as a Group Captain. He was awarded

Param Vishisht Seva Medal Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (IAST: ) is a military award of India. It was constituted in 1960 and since then it is awarded in recognition to peace-time service of the most exceptional order and may be awarded posthumously. All ranks of the ...

in 2019. He was appointed as Aide-de-camp of the president on 1 February 2019.

Personal life

Air Mshl Suresh is married to Radha Suresh and they have a son and a daughter.

References

Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Vayu Sena Medal Indian Air Force air marshals National Defence Academy (India) alumni Year of birth missing (living people) People from Thiruvananthapuram {{DEFAULTSORT:Suresh, Balakrishnan Living people Defence Services Staff College alumni