New Delhi/IBNS, Jan. 30 -- The government has shared the details of a 10-hour daring operation by the Indian forces to rescue 17 crew of a merchant ship near the Somalian coast and honoured the pilot who flew a C-17 military transport aircraft to carry out the high-risk mission.

Wing Commander Akshay Saxena, commissioned into the Indian Air Force (IAF) in June 2006, was posted with the C-17 squadron in February 2021.

Sharing the details of the mission, the Defence Ministry said Wing Commander Saxena finalised suitable crew and ensured aircraft readiness for a quick launch due to the time-critical and secrecy of the same.

The mission involved a threat of small arms with the pirates over and above the extended mission timelines which inv...