Flying high

Wings of Valour by Swapnil Pandey is compendium of true sagas of Indian Air Force operations, including many of its humanitarian and disaster-relief missions

- Sujan Chinoy

Wings of Valour Swapnil Pandey 368pp, ₹399 HarperCollins

Swapnil Pandey’s Wings of Valour is an absorbing and informative compendium of true sagas of the Indian Air Force (IAF)'s daring operations. It includes an account of Operation Sindoor as well. Apart from covering IAF’s many humanitarian and disaster relief (HADR) missions such as Operation Rahat (Yemen, 2015), Operation Kaveri (Sudan, 2023), the Deoghar cable-car rescue operation (Jharkhand, 2022), Operation Safed Sagar (Kargil War, 1999) and Operation Pawan (IPKF, Sri Lanka, 1989), the book also presents inspiring accounts of ultimate sacrifices made by the Garud Commando Force, IAF's elite special forces unit.

The book opens with a brief history of the Indian Air Force, tracing its trajectory from humble origins in 1932 to its current status as the third-ranking force in terms of capabilities in the world. Despite its modest size at inception, it soon proved its mettle during World War 2, earning recognition for exploits in the European, South Asian and Burmese theatres.

Wings of Valour is the result of meticulous research by the author over two years, supported by visits to operational commands and air bases as well as conversations with serving officers, veterans, colleagues and family members of IAF heroes who carried out daring missions and sacrificed their lives.

The chapter on Operation Kaveri is a gripping account of an audacious rescue in Wadi Seidna, Sudan, in April 2023. IAF launched a risky mission in which it used a C-130J Super Hercules to safely extract 118 Indian nationals and three Sudanese citizens amid internal chaos in that country.