Ace fighter pilot Air Marshal AP Singh takes over as new Vice Chief of Indian Air Force

New Delhi, Feb 1: Ace fighter pilot Air Marshal AP Singh on Wednesday (Feb 1) took over as the new Vice Chief of the Indian Air Force (IAF). After assuming office, he laid a wreath at the National War Memorial to honour fallen heroes who made the supreme sacrifice for the nation.

Following this, he was accorded a ceremonial Guard of Honour at the Air Headquarters (Vayu Bhavan) in the national capital. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Defence Services Staff College and National Defence College, the Air Marshal was commissioned into the Fighter Stream of the IAF on 21 December 1984. The Air Officer is a Qualified Flying Instructor and an Experimental Test Pilot with more than 5000 hours of flying experience on a variety of fixed and rotary-wing aircraft.

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An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Defence Services Staff College and National Defence College, the Air Marshal was commissioned into the Fighter Stream of the IAF on 21 December 1984. The Air Officer is a Qualified Flying Instructor and an Experimental Test Pilot with more than 5000 hours of flying experience on a variety of fixed and rotary-wing aircraft.

During his career, the officer has commanded an operational fighter squadron and a frontline air base. As a test pilot, he led the MiG-29 Upgrade Project Management Team in Moscow, Russia. He was also the Project Director (Flight Test) at National Flight Test Centre looking after the flight testing of the Light Combat Aircraft (Tejas).

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He has held important staff appointments of Air Defence Commander at South Western Air Command and Senior Air Staff Officer at Eastern Air Command. Prior to assuming his current appointment, he was the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Central Air Command. The Air Marshal is a recipient of Param Vishisht Seva Medal and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal. He has succeeded Air Marshal Sandeep Singh, who retired on January 31, 2023 after more than 39 years of illustrious service.