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 Admir ...

Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria (born 15 September 1959), is a retired

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the 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 aerial w ...

officer, who served as the Chief of the Air Staff of the

, having assumed office on 30 September 2019 after the retirement of

Birender Singh Dhanoa. He retired on 30 September 2021 and was succeeded by

Vivek Ram Chaudhari.

Early life and education

Bhadauria is from Korath, a village of tahsil Bah District Agra. He is born in a Rajput family. His father, Suraj Pal Singh Bhadauria, too served in the

as a Junior Commissioned Officer and retired with the rank of Master Warrant Officer. Bhadauria is an alumnus of Defence Services Command and Staff College Bangladesh, National Defence Academy, Pune and holds a Masters in Defence studies from Command and Staff College.

Career

Bhadauria was commissioned into the fighter stream of the

on 15 June 1980 with the Sword of Honour. He has clocked over 4,250 hours of flying and has experience on 26 different types of fighter jets and transport aircraft. He held several key operational and administrative appointments at various stages of his service including Commander of a Jaguar Squadron at a front line base in South-Western sector; Commanding Officer of Flight Test Squadron at Aircraft and System Testing Establishment; Chief Test Pilot and Project Director of National Flight Test Centre on the Tejas LCA project; Air Attache in Moscow; Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Projects); Commandant of the National Defence Academy; Senior Air Staff Officer at Central Air Command and Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (1 January 2016 - 28 February 2017). He is also an experimental Test Pilot, a Category A qualified Flying Instructor and a Pilot Attack Instructor. Bhadauria served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C), Southern Air Command from 1 March 2017, succeeding Air Marshal

Sunderraman Neelakantan Air Marshal Sunderraman Neelakantan PVSM, YSM, VM, is a retired officer and was Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C), Southern Air Command of the Indian Air Force from 1 August 2016 to 1 March 2017. He was succeeded by Air Marshal Rake ...

, to 1 August 2018. He also served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C), Training Command from 1 August 2018 after retirement of Air Marshal S R K Nair, and held the office till his elevation to the Vice Chief of the Air Staff. He took office of Vice Chief of the Air Staff on 1 May 2019 after the retirement of Air Marshal

Anil Khosla Air Marshal Anil Khosla, PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC is a retired Indian air force officer who served as 42nd Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS) of the Indian Air Force. He assumed the office on 1 October 2018 and handed over on 30 April 2019. Earl ...

. On 19 September 2019 he was appointed as the Chief of Air Staff. He retired on 30 September 2021.

Personal life

He is married to Asha Bhadauria and they have two children namely Sonali Singh and Sourabh Bhadauria. His Father is Mr. Suraj Pal Singh Bhadauria, who is also from IAF, and a VSM holder. Hs mother's name is Mrs. Vidhya Vati.

Awards and decorations

During 41 years of his career, Bhadauria has been awarded several medals: the

Ati Vishisht Seva Medal 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 Dis ...

(January 2013), the Vayu Sena Medal (January 2002). and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (January 2018). He was appointed as the honorary air force ADC to the President of India on 1 January 2019. He was inducted into Mirpur Hall of Fame at Defence Services Command and Staff College, Bangladesh.

Dates of rank

References

Notes

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhadauria, Rakesh Kumar Singh Living people Chiefs of Air Staff (India) Vice Chiefs of Air Staff (India) Commandants of the National Defence Academy Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Vayu Sena Medal National Defence Academy (India) alumni 1959 births Indian air attachés pa:ਰਾਕੇਸ਼ ਕੁਮਾਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਭਦੌਰਿਆ