Subramaniam Muhilan, VM

Biography

Flight Lieutenant Subramaniam Muhilan was born on 8 March 1972 in the Belagavi district of Karnataka. After completing his graduation from the Raja Lakhamagouda Science Institute in Belagavi, he joined the Indian Air Force and was commissioned as a helicopter pilot on 18 December 1993. He went on to log over 1,250 hours of flying on the Mi-8 and Mi-17 helicopters. During the 1999 Kargil conflict, Flight Lieutenant Muhilan flew with the 152 Helicopter Unit on attack missions over the Drass sector as part of Operation Safed Sagar. On 28 May 1999 he was the co-pilot of a Mi-17 tasked with a live strike against enemy positions at Point 5140 in the Drass sub-sector. After the aircraft successfully engaged the target, it was struck by a missile during the breakaway manoeuvre and crashed, and Flight Lieutenant Muhilan lost his life along with the rest of the crew. For his courage and supreme sacrifice during Operation Safed Sagar, Flight Lieutenant Subramaniam Muhilan was posthumously awarded the Vayu Sena Medal.