Air Marshal Richard John Duckworth,

AVSM Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM, ) is a military award of India given to recognize "distinguished service of an exceptional order" to all ranks of the armed forces. The award is a peacetime equivalent of Uttam Yuddh Seva Medal, which is a Wartime ...

, VSM is a retired officer of the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

. He served as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C),

Central Air Command Central Air Command may refer to: * Central Air Command (India), one of five operational commands of the Indian Air Force * Central Air Command (Pakistan), one of five operational commands of the Pakistan Air Force *Central Air Command (Sweden), on ...

. He assumed the office on 1 July 2021 succeeding Air Marshal

Amit Tiwari Amit Tiwari is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Telugu films. He is known for playing antagonist roles in films such as '' Vikramarkudu'' (2006), '' Lakshyam'' (2007), '' Rowdy Rathore'' (2012) and '' Temper'' (2015). He was a contest ...

. Previously he served as Air Officer in charge Personnel at Air Headquarters Vayu Bhawan in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

and Senior Air Staff Officer for the

Western Air Command The Western Air Command (WAC) is the regional command of Indian Air Force headquartered in New Delhi. It is the largest and most important Air Command of the IAF, comprising sixteen Air Force Bases (AFBs), and is responsible for aerial defence of ...

and

Career

Richard John Duckworth was commissioned as a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force on 29 May, 1983. In a distinguished career spanning 38 years, he has flown a variety of fighter and trainer aircraft with more than 3000 hours of operational flying. With a long career of 38 years, he has commanded a front line fighter aircraft squadron and a fighter base. As an

Air Vice Marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries which have historical British infl ...

, he served as the Assistant Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Technical Intelligence). He is an alumnus of

Defence Services Staff College The Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) is a defence service training institution of the Ministry of Defence, Government of India. It trains officers of all three services of the Indian Armed Forces – (Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air ...

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

. He is a Qualified Flying Instructor and has flown

MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet aircraft, jet fighter aircraft, fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan, Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB, Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nicknames in ...

and

MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twinjet, twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the MiG-29, along with the large ...

fighter aircraft and has commanded a

Mig-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet aircraft, jet fighter aircraft, fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan, Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB, Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nicknames in ...

squadron on a front line base. He superannuated on 30 June, 2022 and was succeeded by Air Marshal

Amar Preet Singh Air chief marshal (India), Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, PVSM, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, AVSM is a serving four star air officer of the Indian Air Force. He is the current and 28th Chief of the Air Staff (India), Chief of the Air Staff (CA ...

Honours and decorations

During his career, Richard John Duckworth was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) in 2008 and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2021.

References

Indian Air Force air marshals Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Vishisht Seva Medal Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Defence Services Staff College alumni {{India-mil-bio-stub