IAF face of Operation Sindoor Air Marshal Bharti retires

Air Marshal Awadesh Kumar Bharti, who was a key architect of the aerial aspect of Operation Sindoor, has retired after serving in the air force for 39 years. India had carried out Operation Sindoor in retribution to the Pahalgam terror attack. India struck multiple Pakistani air bases, radar sites, air defence weapons and terror strikes in this operation. Pakistan asked for a ceasefire soon after missile attacks carried out by the air force on May 10 last year.Commissioned into the Flying Branch in June 1987, he quickly established himself as a fighter pilot of rare calibre. A graduate of the Defence Services Staff College and a Fighter Combat Leader, Bharti’s early trajectory included command responsibilities on the Su-30 fleet at a time when the aircraft was still being integrated into frontline service. His tenure as Flight Commander and later Commanding Officer of No.