Vir Chakra Awardee Flight Lieutenant Alfred Tyrone Cooke Passes Away at 87

23 September 2026National

Flight Lieutenant Alfred Tyrone Cooke (Retd.), a decorated Indian Air Force fighter pilot and Vir Chakra awardee, passed away in New Delhi at the age of 87. Born in 1939, he was commissioned into the IAF on 19 December 1961 through the 80th Pilots Course and served with No. 14 Squadron (The Fighting Bulls) before leaving the service in 1968 after about seven years. During the 1965 India–Pakistan War he shot down a Pakistani F-86 Sabre while flying a Hawker Hunter from Kalaikunda Air Force Station, West Bengal. He was awarded the Vir Chakra, India's third-highest wartime gallantry award, for his courage during the Battle of Kalaikunda.

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Wartime gallantry awards order: Param Vir Chakra > Maha Vir Chakra > Vir Chakra | Indian Air Force Day is observed on 8 October | IAF motto: Nabha Sparsham Deeptam

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