Meet BLADE India Advisor - Air Marshal VK ‘Jimmy’ Bhatia
Air Marshal Bhatia was awarded the Veer Chakra (VrC) twice, for striking deep into enemy territory during the wars of 1965 and 1971. He is also a recipient of the PVSM and AVSM Presidential awards for distinguished services of the highest order.
He has a total of 5,500 hours of flying to his credit, accumulated on approximately 20 types of fighters including Mysteres and Hunters (1960s), MiG-21s and Su-7s (1970s), as well as on military transport aircraft and helicopters such as An-32, Avro HS-748, Dornier 228, Chetak/Cheetah, and Mi-8/Mi-17.
He has been a Qualified Pilot Attack Instructor and an Air Force Examiner.
A pilot of outstanding repute, Air Marshal Bhatia held a multitude of command and staff appointments at all levels of the IAF during his illustrious career spanning more than 40 years