Balakrishnan Manikantan
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Balakrishnan Manikantan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Central Air Command | |
| Assumed office 1 May 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Ashutosh Dixit |
| Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Air Command | |
| In office 1 May 2023 – 30 April 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Jonnalagedda Chalapati |
| Succeeded by | Manish Khanna |
| Personal details | |
| Born | |
| Spouse | Group Captain Nirmala Tutakne Manikantan |
| Alma mater | Air Force Academy |
| Awards | Param Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Vayu Sena Medal |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  India |
| Branch/service |  Indian Air Force |
| Years of service | 7 June 1986 – Present |
| Rank |  Air Marshal |
| Unit | No. 152 Helicopter Unit |
| Commands | Central Air Command Southern Air Command |
| Battles/wars | Operation Meghdoot Operation Pawan |
| Service number | 18291[1] |
Air Marshal Balakrishnan Manikantan, PVSM, AVSM, VM is an officer of the Indian Air Force. He is currently serving as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C), Central Air Command. Previously, he served as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Southern Air Command. He assumed the office on 1 May 2023 till 30 April 2025 succeeding Air Marshal Jonnalagedda Chalapati.[2]
Balakrishnan Manikantan, a native Thiruvarppu, a village in Kottayam, Kerala. Born to a teacher couple, Balakrishna Pillai and P K Lakshmi Kutty Amma, Manikantan is an alumnus of Sanik School, Kazhakootam and National Defence Academy, Pune. He holds a Post Graduate degree from Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, Masters in Management Studies (MMS) from College of Defence Management, Secunderabad and M Phil from National Defence College, New Delhi.[3][4]
Career
Balakrishnan Manikantan was commissioned as the helicopter pilot in the Indian Air Force. In a career spanning over 37 years, he has as more than 5,400 hours of flying experience across various helicopters and fixed wing plane.[5]
He is a Helicopter combat leader and a Cat ‘A’ qualified flying instructor. He served as the commanding officer of No. 152 Helicopter Unit and has taken part in the Indian Air Force contingent at UN Mission in Congo.
As Group Captain, he served as the station commander of Allahabad Airport and later as Air Commodore, he served as the Air Officer Commanding of 21 Wing at AFS Leh in the Western sector. Under his command, the units won trophies for performance at the Command level.
As Air Vice Marshal, he served as the Senior Air & Administration Staff Officer, Maintenance Command at Nagpur. Later, helped in setting up International Defence Cooperation at HQ-IDS and served as the Assistant Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (ACIDS) at Integrated Defence Staff.
He took part in the Operation Pawan, an operation against LTTE by Indian Peace Keeping Force and Operation Meghdoot.[6]
After his promotion to Air Marshal in August 2022, he served as the Senior Air Staff Officer, Eastern Air Command till 30 April 2023.[7]
He took over as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Air Command on 1 May 2023 from Air Marshal Jonnalagedda Chalapati and served till 30 April 2025.[2]
Later, he was appointed as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Central Air Command on 1 May 2025.[8]
