15 Facts About Ravish Malhotra

Ravish Malhotra was an Air Force test pilot stationed at the test centre in Bangalore.

Ravish Malhotra was the Air Officer Commanding of Hindon Air Force Station near Delhi.

Ravish Malhotra was awarded the Soviet Order of Friendship of Peoples in 1984 and the Kirti Chakra in 1985.

Ravish Malhotra was born on 25 December 1943 in Lahore, in the Punjab Province of British India into a Punjabi Hindu family with three other siblings.

Ravish Malhotra's mother was Raj Malhotra and his father was SC Malhotra.

Ravish Malhotra's family moved from Lahore to Delhi after India's independence from Britain and the subsequent partition in 1947.

Ravish Malhotra progressively graduated to flying other aircraft including the Dassault Mystere, HAL HF-24 Marut, and the Soviet Sukhoi Su-22.

Ravish Malhotra was part of the IAF fighter squadron that was tasked with air raids over Pakistan in 1971, after that country had launched strikes on India prior to the Bangladesh Liberation War.

Ravish Malhotra flew the Sukhoi Su-22 in over 17 sorties into Pakistani air space.

Ravish Malhotra trained at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City for over two years.

The decision to have Sharma go to space and Ravish Malhotra remain on the ground was taken by the Ministry of Defence in India halfway through the training program.

Ravish Malhotra remained on good terms with Sharma after the mission.

Ravish Malhotra took an early retirement from the Air Force in 1995.

Ravish Malhotra entered the private sector, setting up an aerospace manufacturing firm, Dynamatic Aerospace.

Ravish Malhotra retired from the company at the age of 75.