KANNUR
Air Marshal Sreekumar Prabhakaran, a native of Kannur, has assumed charge as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Western Air Command.
A native of Kaliassery in Kannur, the Air Marshal is a graduate of the National Defence Academy and was commissioned as a fighter pilot on December 22, 1983.
He is a graduate of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and an alumnus of the National Defence College, New Delhi. An experienced MiG-21 pilot, he has held a variety of operational and instructional appointments. The officer is a Cat A flying instructor. He has flown nearly 5,000 hours on single-engine fighter and trainer aircraft.
Air Marshal Prabhakaran commanded the prestigious Suryakiran Aerobatic Team for three years. During his tenure, the team gave over 150 public demonstrations, including at Singapore, Bangkok, and Myanmar. The team was awarded the Chief of Air Staff’s “Unit Citation”.
The Air Marshal has held a number of appointments which include command of two flying bases, Senior Directing Staff at DSSC, Wellington, and Commandant, College of Air Warfare. He was the Defence Attache in Cairo and was also accredited to Cyprus, Dijibouti, Ethiopia, and Sudan.
He was the Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Intelligence) at Air Headquarters for three years and thereafter, Director General (Inspection & Safety). He also served as Senior Air Staff Officer, South Western Air Command. Prior to this appointment, he was the Commandant of Air Force Academy, Hyderabad.
He was awarded the Vayu Sena Medal in Oct 2005 and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2022.
