• India
  • Sep 22

Air Marshal V.R. Chaudhari to be new chief of Indian Air Force

• Air Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari will take charge as the chief of the Indian Air Force after the retirement of Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria on September 30.

• Air Marshal Chaudhari is currently serving as Vice Chief of the Air Staff.

• He is a recipient of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and Vayu Sena Medal.

• He has held command, staff and instructional appointments at various levels and took over as Vice Chief of Air Staff on July 1.

• Before becoming Vice Chief of the IAF, he was serving as commander-in-chief of the Western Air Command (WAC) that looks after the security of Indian air space in the sensitive Ladakh sector as well as various other parts of north India.

• An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Air Marshal Chaudhari was commissioned into the fighter stream of the IAF on December 29, 1982.

• Apart from various operational issues, Air Marshal Chaudhari will have to also address matters related to the ambitious theaterisation model of the armed forces.

• The theatre commands are being planned to integrate the capabilities of the three services and to ensure optimal utilisation of their resources.

• The theatre commands are being set up under a larger mandate of ensuring synergy among the three service chiefs to deal with future security challenges.

• Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat has been focusing on bringing convergence among the three services and restructuring military commands to effectively deal with future security challenges.

Indian Air Force

• The Indian Air Force was officially established on October 8, 1932. The IAF  is headquartered in New Delhi. 

• For effective command and control, the IAF has seven commands, under which there are different stations and units located at various places throughout the country. 

1) Western Air Command

2) Eastern Air Command

3) Central Air Command

4) South Western Air Command

5) Southern Air Command

6) Training Command

7) Maintenance Command.

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