Air Marshal AP Singh appointed as next IAF chief

Air Marshal Amar Preet Singh has been appointed as the next Chief of the Indian Air Force (IAF). He is a fighter pilot and is presently the Vice Chief of the IAF. During his flying career, he was also tasked with test-flying the indigenous Tejas fighter jet.

Just ten days ago, he flew the Tejas at Jodhpur during the multi-nation exercise 'Tarang Shakti'.

The Ministry of Defence said “he was also the Project Director (Flight Test) at National Flight Test Centre and was tasked with flight testing of the Light Combat Aircraft, Tejas”.

He is scheduled to take over on September 30, when the present incumbent Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari superannuates.

Incidentally, Air Marshal Singh is fourth officer from the Sikh community to lead the IAF.

In the past, Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh, Air Chief Marshal Dilbagh Singh and Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa have been from Sikh Community.

Air Marshal AP Singh was commissioned into the fighter pilot stream of the Indian Air Force in December 1984. During his long service of nearly 40 years, he has served in a variety of Command appointments.

He was the Commander of the IAF’s Central Command headquartered at Prayagraj.

During his career, the Air Marshal has commanded an operational fighter squadron and a frontline air base along the borders. He was a test-pilot and led the MiG-29 jet upgrade project management team at Moscow, Russia.

The Air Marshal has also served as Air Defence Commander at South Western Air Command headquartered at Ahmedabad. He has been Senior Air Staff Officer at Eastern Air Command at Shillong, Meghalaya.

An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Defence Services Staff College and National Defence College, Air Marshal Singh is qualified flying instructor and an experimental test pilot with more than 5,000 hours of flying experience on a variety of fixed wing planes and helicopters.