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 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

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 Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria.

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 Air Chief Marshal. Appointments to the office are made by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC). The CAS reaches superannuation 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 seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Indian military appointments Indian Air Force appointments