The Government of India has appointed Air Marshal Amar Preet Singh, PVSM, AVSM, as the next Chief of the Air Staff in the rank of Air Chief Marshal, effective from the afternoon of September 30, 2024.
This appointment comes as the current Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari, PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC, is set to demit office on the same date.
Before this, Air Marshal Amar Preet Singh served as the Vice Chief of the Air Staff. He was commissioned into the Indian Air Force as a fighter pilot in December 1984 and has built an illustrious career spanning nearly 40 years, during which he has held various instructional, staff, command, and overseas positions.
With over 5,000 hours of flying experience on a range of fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, Air Marshal Singh is a qualified flight instructor and an experimental test pilot. His educational background includes graduating from the National Defence Academy, Defence Services Staff College, and National Defence College.
Throughout his career, he has led a front-line air base and an operational fighter unit. As a test pilot, he managed the MiG-29 Upgrade Project in Moscow, Russia, and oversaw the flight testing of the Tejas light combat aircraft while serving as the Project Director (Flight Test) at the National Flight Test Center. His key staff roles have included Senior Air Staff Officer at Eastern Air Command and Air Defence Commander at South Western Air Command, and he was the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Central Air Command before his current position.