Know our boys for the space from the Indian Air Force
Space travel is not just another dream, but a combination of desire, dedication, and love for your uniform.
ISRO will make the debut in the man mission on its own with Gaganyan and the Indian Air Force will be the fortunate four to fly the tricolor in the space.
Let’s see who are these four people from India to be in the space.
Gp Capt Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair
Gp Capt Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair was born in Thiruvazhiyad, Kerala on 26 Aug 1976.
He is an alumnus of NDA and recipient of the Sword of Honour at the Air Force Academy. He was commissioned on 19 Dec 1998 in the fighter stream of IAF. He is a Cat A Flying Instructor and a Test Pilot with approx 3000 hrs of flying experience. He has flown a variety of ac including Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Hawk, Dornier, An-32, etc. He is also an alumnus of the United States Staff College and a DS at DSSC, Wellington, and FIS, Tambaram. He has commanded a premier fighter Su-30 Sqn.
Gp Capt Ajit Krishnan
Gp Capt Ajit Krishnan was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu on 19 Apr 1982.
He is an alumnus of NDA and recipient of the President’s Gold Medal and Sword of Honour at the Air Force Academy. He was commissioned on 21 Jun 2003 in the fighter stream of IAF. He is a Flying Instructor and a Test Pilot with approx 2900 hrs of flying experience. He has flown a variety of ac including Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-21, Mig-29, Jaguar, Dornier, An-32, etc. He is also an alumnus of DSSC, Wellington.
Gp Catp Angad Pratap
Gp Capt Angad Pratap was born in Prayagraj on 17 Jul 1982.
He is an alumnus of NDA and was commissioned on 18 Dec 2004 in the fighter stream of IAF. He is a Flying Instructor and a Test Pilot with approx 2000 hrs of flying experience. He has flown a variety of ac including Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, An-32, etc.
Wg Cdr Shubhanshu Shukla
Wg Cdr Shubhanshu Shukla was born in Lucknow, UP on 10 Oct 1985.
He is an alumnus of NDA and was commissioned on 17 Jun 2006 in the fighter stream of IAF. He is a Fighter Combat Leader and a Test Pilot with approx 2000 hrs of flying experience. He has flown a variety of ac including Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, MiG-29, Jaguar, Hawk, Dornier, An-32, etc.
