Family of bravehearts: Son follows in dad’s steps

An alumnus of Sainik School, Amaravathinagar, he studied at the Defence Services Staff College was trained at the National Defence Academy (NDA).

He was among the few select fighter pilots in service back in the day, who held the distinction of having flown 40 different types of aircraft with over 4,000 flying hours to his credit. Varthaman has a wide range of experience, covering operational, flight testing and instructional flying. He has also flown most of the fighters, transport and helicopters that are in service today in the IAF.

During the Kargil conflict, Varthaman was the Chief Operations Officer at Gwalior where he employed his flight test experience to aid in the upgradation of the Mirage 2000 aircraft. The fighter had proved decisive in the success of the air campaign. Varthaman is credited with being Chief Test Pilot at the elite Aircraft Systems and Testing Establishment (ASTE) of IAF in Bengaluru, and Chief Flying Instructor at fighter training wing in Hakimpet, Andhra Pradesh.

As air attaché in Paris and the Benelux countries (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg), Varthaman made a strong impression on international defence co-operation with European air forces. He had continued to strengthen ties with air forces across the world upon his return to New Delhi and was appointed the Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Intelligence).

In Aug 2011, he took over as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Air Command in Shillong. During Operation Parakram, launched after the December 13, 2001 terrorist attack on the Parliament, he took charge of an operational airbase in the western sector.

In 2017, Varthaman headed a high-powered panel appointed by the defence ministry to examine different aspects of a multi-billion-dollar, fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) project. The panel favoured India to co-develop and co-produce the stealth fighter with Russia. He is the recipient of the Presidential Awards of Athi Vishisht Seva Medal, Vayu Sena Medal and Vishisht Seva Medal.