Former vice-chief of Indian Air Force (IAF) Air Marshal P.K. Barbora (Retd) passed away today at the Army Research and Referral Hospital in Delhi following illness.
He was 73.
Born on 10 December 1950 in Shillong, Meghalaya, Air Marshal Barbora was the first officer from Assam and Northeast to reach such a high post in the armed forces.
In the Indian Air Force (IAF), Air Marshal Barbora (Retd) was seen as the driving force behind the reopening of the Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) airstrip in 2008, after more than 40 years of shutdown, despite initial scepticism from both the government and the IAF.
During that period, Barbora led the Western Air Command (WAC). East of Siachen, near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, sits DBO, the highest airfield in the world.
He had also activated the Fuk Che Advanced Landing Ground.
IAF officers described him as a dynamic personality who valued teamwork when fighting.
During his tenure as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) of the WAC, he started cooperative drills with the Army’s northern, western, and south-western commands.
The WAC continues to provide air support to Army units deployed in the glacier region.
He was apoointed as vice-chief of IAF on June 1, 2009.
Announcing his appointment, the Ministry of Defence stated that the WAC had achieved exceptionally high aircraft utilisation rates under his leadership and that night operations by the fighter and transport aircraft had grown significantly.
He was commissioned into the IF as a fighter pilot on 13 June 1970. He had also taken part in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War too.
In addition to being a part of the lAF’s inaugural Air Combat Simulator team, the first in Asia, he was also a member of the team that entered the first Jaguar squadron.
He was a recipient of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal and Vayu Sena Medal.
