Air Marshal A.P. Singh has been appointed the next Chief of the Air Staff. He is currently the Vice Chief of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and will take over the top post on September 30 when the incumbent Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari retires on superannuation.
“The Government has appointed Air Marshal Amar Preet Singh presently serving as Vice Chief of the Air Staff, as the next Chief of the Air Staff, in the rank of Air Chief Marshal, with effect from the afternoon of September 30, 2024,” a defence ministry statement said on Saturday.
An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Defence Services Staff College and National Defence College, Air Marshal Singh was commissioned into the Fighter Stream of the IAF on December 21, 1984. He is a qualified flying instructor and an experimental test pilot with more than 5000 hours of flying experience on a variety of fixed and rotary wing aircraft.
Air Marshal Singh has commanded an operational fighter squadron and a frontline air base. As a test pilot, he led the MiG-29 Upgrade Project Management Team at Moscow, Russia. He was also the Project Director (Flight Test) at National Flight Test Centre looking after the flight testing of the Light Combat Aircraft (Tejas). He served as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Central Air Command before taking over as the Vice Chief on February 1, 2023.
The Air Marshal is a recipient of Param Vishisht Seva Medal and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal.
Published – September 21, 2024 02:17 pm IST