Air Marshal Amar Preet Singh appointed the 28th IAF Chief

The government of India has appointed the current Vice Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Amar Preet Singh, as the next Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force. Air Marshal Amar Preet Singh will be the 28th Chief of the Indian Air Force. He will take over as the Chief of the Indian Air Force on 30 September 2024, when the current  Chief of the Indian Air Force,  Air Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari, retires on the same day.

About  Air Marshal Amar Preet Singh 

Air Marshal Amar Preet Singh graduated from the National Defence Academy and was commissioned into the Indian Air Force as a fighter pilot in December 1984. 

During his nearly four decades of service, he has served in various command, staff, instructional and foreign appointments.

Before being appointed Vice Chief of the Air Staff, he was the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Central Air Command, Prayagraj.

Air Marshal Amar Preet Singh commanded a MiG-27 squadron and, as a test pilot, led the MiG-29 Upgrade Project Management Team in Moscow, Russia.

He strongly supports self-reliance in the Indian Air Force and has backed the development of the indigenous fighter plane Tejas. He was the Project Director (Flight Test) at the National Flight Test Centre and was tasked with flight testing of the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas.

To prove the robustness and reliability of Tejas, he, along with the Vice Chiefs of the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force, flew the aircraft. He flew the lead Tejas aircraft, and the Army Vice Chief Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani and Navy Vice Chief Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan flew in a twin-seater Tejas aircraft.

Chief of the Indian Air Force 

The British established the Indian Air Force on 8 October 1932 as the Royal Indian Air Force. After independence, it was renamed the Indian Air Force in January 1950.

The first chief of the Indian Air Force after independence was a British Air Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst (15 Aug 1947-22 February 1950).

Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee was the first Indian to be appointed as the Indian Air Force’s Chief of the Air Staff (On 01 April 1954- 8 November 1960).

The Subroto Cup International Football Tournament is held in memory of Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee. It is an interschool football tournament in which school teams from India and foreign teams participate. 

Command Structure of the Indian Air Force 

The Indian Air Force headquarters is in New Delhi, with the President of India being its chief.

The Indian Air Force has five operational commands, one training command and one Maintenance command. An officer of the rank of Air Marshal heads these commands.