Air Chief Marshal AP Singh takes charge as new Chief Of Indian Air Force

His distinguished career, spanning nearly four decades, has seen him serve in numerous command, staff, instructional, and foreign assignments.

New Delhi: Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, an ace fighter pilot with over 5,000 hours of flying experience, assumed command as the new Chief of the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Monday, succeeding Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari. The transition comes as Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari retired after leading the force for three years.

The Ministry of Defence shared a video showing Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari handing over command of the IAF to Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh.

Born on 27 October 1964, Air Chief Marshal Singh was commissioned into the fighter pilot stream of the IAF in December 1984.

His distinguished career, spanning nearly four decades, has seen him serve in numerous command, staff, instructional, and foreign assignments. Notably, he is an alumnus of prestigious institutions such as the National Defence Academy, Defence Services Staff College, and National Defence College.

In his illustrious career, Singh has gained expertise as both a qualified flying instructor and an experimental test pilot. He has logged over 5,000 hours flying a diverse range of fixed and rotary-wing aircraft. His operational command experience includes leading a frontline fighter squadron and an airbase.

As a test pilot, he headed the MiG-29 upgrade project in Moscow and was the Project Director (Flight Test) at the National Flight Test Centre, overseeing the flight testing of the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas.