Air Marshal A.P. Singh at this time served as the Vice Chief of the Air Staff, has been appointed the next Chief of the Air Staff. He is the presently Vice Chief of IAF and will assume the top post on 30th September when present Chief Air Marshal V. R. Chaudhari will retire on superannuation.
In a government press release dated Saturday, it said: “The Government has appointed Air Marshal Amar Preet Singh presently serving Vice Chief of the Air Staff, the next Chief of the Air Staff, in the rank of Air Chief Marshal, with effect from the afternoon of September 30, 2024.”
Educated at National Defence Academy, Defence Services Staff College, National Defence College, and Air Marshal Singh was commissioned into the Fighter Stream on December 21, 1984, in the IAF. He has qualified as a flying instructor as well as a test pilot for experimental flights and has flown over 5000 hours on various types of fixed and rotary-winged aircraft.
He also served with an active operational fighter squadron and was Commanding of a frontline airbase. As a test pilot, he worked as a head of the MiG-29 Upgrade Project Management Team based in Moscow, Russia. He was also the Project Director (Flight Test) at National Flight Test Centre responsible for the flight test of Light Combat Aircraft Tejas. He was earlier Air Officer Commanding in Chief of Central Air Command before assuming the appointment of Vice Chief on February 1, 2023.
The Air Marshal has been awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal as well as Ati Vishisht Seva Medal.
