NEW DELHI :
AIR Marshal Amar Preet Singh, a fighter pilot with more than 5,000
hours of flying experience,
will take charge as the chief
of the Indian Air Force after
incumbent Air Chief
Marshal V R Chaudhari
retires on September 30. Air
Marshal Singh is currently
serving as the Vice Chief of
the Air Staff.
“The Government has
appointed Air Marshal Amar Preet
Singh, PVSM, AVSM, 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,” the
Defence Ministry said.
As Chief of Air Staff, Air
Marshal Singh’s priorities
are expected to be the procurement of new fighter
fleets and advancing the
modernisation agenda of
the force in view of the fast-evolving regional security landscape, including
challenges along the Line of
Actual Control (LAC) with
China.
The number of the
IAF’s fighter squadrons has
come down to around 30 as
against the authorised
strength of at least 42.
Theairwarriorplayedakey
role in the IAF’s hosting of
the multinational wargame
‘Tarang Shakti’ recently.
Knownas a fine strategist,
Air Marshal Singh, in a message to the DRDO and other agencies apparently over
delaysindeliveryofTejasjets
and other military systems,
said publicly at an event in
July that self-reliance in
defencecannotbeatthecost
of national security.
BornonOctober 27, 1964,
Air Marshal Singh was commissioned into the fighter
pilot streamoftheIndian Air
Force in December 1984.
In his long and distinguished service spanning
nearly40years,hehasserved
in a variety of command,
staff, instructional and foreign appointments.
An alumnus of the
National Defence Academy,
Defence Services Staff
College and National
DefenceCollege, theairofficer is a qualified flying
instructor and an experimental test pilot with more
than 5,000 hours of flying
experience on a variety of
fixed and rotary-wing aircraft. The officer has commanded an operational
fightersquadronandafrontline air base. Asatest pilot,
he led the MiG-29 upgrade
project management team
in Moscow. He was also the
ProjectDirector(FlightTest)
at the National Flight Test
Centre and was tasked with
flighttestingofthelightcombat aircraft, Tejas.
AirMarshalSinghhasheld
important staff appointments of Air Defence
Commander at the South
Western Air Command and
SeniorAir StaffOfficer atthe
Eastern Air Command.
Prior to assuming the
charge of Vice Chief of the
AirStaffinFebruarylastyear,
he was the Air Officer
Commanding-in-Chief of
the Central Air Command.
The air marshal is a recipient of the Param Vishisht
Seva Medal and Ati Vishisht
Seva Medal.