Air Marshal Amar Preet Singh Appointed Next IAF Chief, To Take Charge On Sept 30

NEW DELHI: Air Marshal Amar Preet Singh has been appointed as the next chief of the Indian Air Force, the centre announced on Saturday.

The newly selected Air Chief will take over the reigns from current Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari, who retires on Sept 30. The central government has stuck to the seniority principle in appointing Air Marshal Singh as the next IAF chief.

A seasoned veteran, Air Marshal Singh was a fighter pilot who was commissioned into the Air Force back in December 1984. He was an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Defence Services Staff College, and National Defence College.

During his illustrious career, Singh served in various important positions, including fulfilling the role of command and staff appointments before he was appointed the vice-chief in February last year.

Prior to it, he served as the air officer commanding-in-chief of the Central Air Command at Prayagraj. Before commanding the Central Air Command (CAC), Singh served as the Senior Air Staff Officer at the Eastern Air Command.

It is worth mentioning that Amar Preet Singh happens to be a qualified flying instructor and an experimental test pilot.

He has over 5,000 hours of flying under his belt on a variety of aircraft and helicopters. He has also commanded an operational fighter squadron and a front air base during his time with the Air Force.

As a test pilot, he led the MiG-29 fighter upgrade project management team at Moscow and was also the project director (flight test) of the indigenous Tejas light combat aircraft.

Throughout his career, Singh has received several honors, including the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2019 and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2023.

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