Rajiv Pundir, VM

Biography

Squadron Leader Rajiv Pundir was born on 28 April 1962 in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. He studied at St. Joseph's Academy and joined the National Defence Academy as part of its 62nd course. On 29 May 1983 he was commissioned as a helicopter pilot in the Indian Air Force. Over his career he accumulated more than 3,000 hours of operational flying across nearly every helicopter type in service, including the Mi-8, Mi-17, Mi-26, Chetak and Cheetah, served in Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka, and earned the Chief of the Air Staff Commendation in 1988. During the 1999 Kargil conflict, Squadron Leader Pundir flew with the 152 Helicopter Unit, the 'Mighty Armours', tasked with attack missions over the Drass sector under Operation Safed Sagar. On 28 May 1999 he was assigned a live strike against entrenched enemy positions at Point 5140, at an altitude of over five kilometres. Fully aware that the area was infested with shoulder-fired missiles and that his Mi-17 had no effective countermeasures, he pressed home the attack with precision. After successfully engaging the target, his helicopter was struck by a missile during the breakaway manoeuvre and crashed, and he lost his life along with his entire crew. For his conspicuous bravery, exemplary devotion to duty and supreme sacrifice, Squadron Leader Rajiv Pundir was posthumously awarded the Vayu Sena Medal.