The Chief of the Air Staff (India), known also as the Air Force Chief, has been the title of the professional head of the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct ...

since 1950. The CAS is a statutory position in the

Indian Armed Forces The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Armed Forces are supported by th ...

held by the most senior officer of the Air Force, and is usually the highest ranking air officer of the

unless the Chief of Defence Staff is an officer of the aerial branch. The current CAS is

Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer originating from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. An air chief marshal is equivalent to an Admi ...

Vivek Ram Chaudhari Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari, is an air officer of the Indian Air Force. He currently serves as the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS). He took over as the 27th CAS succeeding Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria on 30 September 2 ...

who took office on 30 September 2021, following the retirement of

Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria (born 15 September 1959), is a retired Indian Air Force officer, who served as the Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force, having assumed office on 30 September 2019 after the retirement ...

Office of the Chief of Air Staff

At Independence, the head of the Air Force designated as the "Air Marshal Commanding, Royal Indian Air Force". On 1 March 1948, the title of "Chief of the Air Staff" was added, with a further re-designation to "Chief of the Air Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Air Force" on 21 June to maintain uniformity across the three armed services. The "Royal" designation was dropped when India became a republic on 26 January 1950. Thus re-designating the head of IAF to "Chief of the Air Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Indian Air Force". The Commanders-In-Chief (Change in Designation) Act, 1955 re-designated the head of IAF to "Chief of Air Staff". The position was held by a

three-star rank An officer of three-star rank is a senior commander in many of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-8. The term is also used by some armed forces which are not NATO members. Typically, three-star officers hold the ...

ed Air Marshal until 1966, when the position was upgraded to the

four-star rank A four-star rank is the rank of any four-star officer described by the NATO OF-9 code. Four-star officers are often the most senior commanders in the armed services, having ranks such as (full) admiral, (full) general, colonel general, army ge ...

of an

. Appointments to the office are made by the

Appointments Committee of the Cabinet The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) appoints several top posts within the Government of India. The committee is composed of the Prime Minister of India (''ex-officio'' Chairman) and the Minister of Home Affairs. Originally the Minist ...

(ACC). The CAS reaches

superannuation A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payment ...

upon three years in the office or at the age of 62, whichever is earlier.

Appointees

(**''Seconded from the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

'')

Commander-in-Chief, Indian Air Force (1950–1955)

Chief of the Air Staff (1955–present)

Notes

References

Chiefs of the Indian Air Force

External links

* {{Chief of the air force by country

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

Indian military appointments Indian Air Force appointments