I am looking to enhance my knowledge base venturing into disciplines that have always interested me but have eluded me because of my past profile. And what better place to start than an illustrious organisation like IIMA.

Had the proud privilege of commanding a wonderful set of Officers and Men in an Advanced Light Helicopter unit in North East India. Was entrusted with the reins of an unit that had just lost its CO in a helicopter crash. Was in charge of running flight operations, maintenance activities along with administration and discipline of the unit. Undertook a plethora of high risk military operations successfully in the most challenging environments all the while ensuring a high level of motivation in the team and nurtured young talent in the team towards professional excellence. Could harness my expertise in Flight Testing to innovate and integrate new capabilities onto the ALH helicopter like a real time live streaming of Electro Optical imagery to a distant networked ground station to enable real time decision making in operational exigencies. This tenure gave me new insights in the practical aspects of leadership, crisis management, spare supply chain & maintenance management and risk mitigation.

Had the honour of flying the VVIP's of the country including the Prime Minister and the President frequently during this tenure at the Air HQ Com Sqn. This experience gave me the ability to plan missions with high stakes to ensure flawless execution and involved a high degree of inter-operability and cooperation between the Air force and various other agencies including the local civil administration and security establishments.

Was employed as a Test Pilot in 3 BRD Chandigarh that undertakes major overhaul of all the Russian Helicopters operated by the IAF along with the assembly of new generation Mi 17 V5 helicopters under procurement from Ms Rosoboron Export Russia. Was in charge of production testing of newly assembled Mi 17 V5 helicopters along with the Russian crew along with production testing of locally overhauled Mi-8, Mi-17 and Mi-17 IV helicopters. Was also in charge of Flight Safety and Quality Control of Helicopters produced at 3 BRD in conjunction with the Chief of Quality Assurance. The production task was achieved successfully while ensuring stringent quality control and production standards. There were no major accidents/ incidents and I was commended by the Air Officer Commanding in Chief Maintenance Command for my contribution during this period.

Had the good fortune to work with the most skilled professionals in HAL that had pioneered design and development of helicopters in the country. Could blend with the team despite the vast difference in experience, learn from them and was a key factor in the successful completion and certification of many projects like the GPWS on Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), Mission Computer Software validation on ALH, Design of Man Machine interface for many of the subsystems on ALH and other platforms. The varied experience taught me important lessons in Project Management, Design Concepts, Armament Testing Procedure and allowed me to participate in the Design and Development of new helicopters incorporating State of the Art Technology. The rich experience of my colleagues at HAL enriched my knowledge regarding peculiar problems in design and developmental projects and finding innovative workable solutions.

Studied Flight Test Engineering from one of the finest institutes of the world. Though the course was conducted in French, the academic sessions at ISAE SUPAERO along with the composite training at EPNER (Istres, France) was truly an enriching learning experience that not only allowed me to feed from my creative enthusiasm but gave me a global exposure and outlook that is unmatched.

Underwent training as a flight test crew at EPNER France. Got a wide exposure to various platforms, flying over 22 different types of helicopters during the programme and learning the nuances of experimental flight testing. The training was holistic, practical and industry oriented which subsequently helped me during the developmental projects at HAL Bangalore. The course included training visits and evaluation testing outside France, to 4 other countries viz Germany, Canada, UK and India and was also linked to SUPAERO for award of Specialised Masters in Experimental Flight Test Engineering on completion of the course.