Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British i ...

Srinivasapuram Krishnaswamy

PVSM Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: , ) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of India. It is the highest peacetime medal of the Indian Armed Forces, and is awarded for "dist ...

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 ...

, VM & Bar, ADC (born January 1943) is a former

Air Officer An air officer is an air force officer of the rank of air commodore or higher. Such officers may be termed "officers of air rank". While the term originated in the Royal Air Force, air officers are also to be found in many Commonwealth of Natio ...

in 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 ...

(IAF). He served as the 19th Chief of the Air Staff from 2001 to 2004. He raised the first electronic warfare squadron in the Indian Air Force. He has the rare distinction of having commanded three operational commands of the IAF - the

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

, South-Western and

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 ...

Early life and education

Krishnaswamy was born on 18 January 1943 in Srinivasapuram,

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

. He completed his schooling as well as his college education in the same city.

Military career

Krishnaswamy was commissioned as a fighter pilot in December 1961. In the early years of his service, he flew the

Hawker Hunter The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet propulsion, jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly dev ...

, the

Folland Gnat The Folland Gnat is a British compact swept-wing subsonic aircraft, subsonic fighter aircraft that was developed and produced by Folland Aircraft. Envisioned as an affordable light fighter in contrast to the rising cost and size of typical comb ...

and the

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

. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, he flew the Gnats and was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

. Subsequently, he was trained in the United Kingdom to become a

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

. On his return, he joined the Aircraft and System Training Establishment (ASTE). He qualified as a fighter combat leader and served as a senior

directing staff Military education and training is a process which intends to establish and improve the capabilities of military personnel in their respective roles. Military training may be voluntary or compulsory duty. It begins with recruit training, proceed ...

at the premier

Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment or TACDE is an Indian Air Force unit for training aerial combat to its top one percent fighter pilots. TACDE is based in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. It was conferred Presidential standard in 2009. The i ...

(TACDE). For his tenure at TACDE, he was awarded the

Vayu Sena Medal The Vayu Sena Medal () is a military decoration, usually awarded in peacetime for a job well done in the Indian Air Force. However, it has been granted during times of conflict for acts of gallantry in the face of enemy, though not in the same n ...

on 26 January 1978. Krishnaswamy specialised in electronic warfare (EW) and raised and commanded the first EW Squadron of the IAF. The squadron consisted of MiG-21 and

English Electric Canberra The English Electric Canberra is a British first-generation, jet-powered medium bomber. It was developed by English Electric during the mid- to late 1940s in response to a 1944 Air Ministry requirement for a successor to the wartime de Havilla ...

aircraft. For his stint as

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

of the squadron, he was awarded the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

to the Vayu Sena Medal on 26 January 1982. He subsequently served as the Deputy Air Advisor to the High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom at

India House, London The High Commission of India in London, England, is the diplomatic mission of India in the United Kingdom. It is located in India House on Aldwych, between Bush House, what was Marconi House (now Citibank) and Australia House. It faces both ...

. Promoted to the rank of

Group Captain Group captain (Gp Capt or G/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British influence. Group cap ...

, he served as the Chief Operations Officer of the

Maharajpur Air Force Station Gwalior Airport , also known as Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Terminal, is a domestic airport managed and operated by the Airports Authority of India serving the city of Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located in Maharajpura, 10 km (6 mi) n ...

Gwalior Gwalior (Hindi: , ) is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; It is known as the Music City of India having oldest Gwalior gharana, musical gharana in existence. It is a major sports, cultural, industrial, and political c ...

Air rank

Krishnaswamy attended the prestigious National Defence College,

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 ...

as part of the 25th course in 1985. After the course, he took over as the Director of Air Staff requirements at Air headquarters. He was promoted to the substantive rank of

Air Commodore Air commodore (Air Cdre or Air Cmde) 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 countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...

on 1 September 1988. In January 1990, he took command of the premier base for the

Mikoyan MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a 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 larger Suk ...

and

SEPECAT Jaguar The SEPECAT Jaguar is a British-French supersonic jet attack aircraft originally used by the British Royal Air Force and the French Air Force in the close air support and nuclear strike role. As of 2025, the Jaguar remains in service with the ...

maritime aircraft -

Lohegaon Air Force Station Pune Airport is an international airport and an Indian Air Force base serving the city of Pune, Maharashtra, India. It is located at Lohagaon, approximately northeast of the historic centre of Pune. The airport is a civil enclave operated ...

. In February 1993, Krishnaswamy was promoted to the acting rank of

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 ...

and moved to Air HQ taking over as the Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Plans). After a three-year stint as ACAS Plans, he was promoted to the rank of Air Marshal and was appointed Deputy Chief of Air Staff (DCAS). On 26 January 1996, he was awarded 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 D ...

. Krishnaswamy was promoted to Commander-in-Chief grade on 1 April 1997 and appointed

Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...

Allahabad Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...

. After a short stint, he was appointed AOC-in-C South Western Air Command (SWAC) at

Jodhpur Jodhpur () is the second-largest city of the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, after its capital Jaipur. As of 2023, the city has a population of 1.83 million. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Jodhpur district and ...

in November. On 26 January 1998, he was awarded the

Param Vishisht Seva Medal Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: , ) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of India. It is the highest peacetime medal of the Indian Armed Forces, and is awarded for "dist ...

for distinguished service of the highest order. Under Krishnaswamy, in view of the increased operational importance of SWAC, it was decided by Air HQ that the headquarters of SWAC would move from

Gandhinagar Gandhinagar () is the capital of the state of Gujarat in India. Gandhinagar is located approximately 23 km north of Ahmedabad, on the west central point of the industrial corridor between the megacities of Delhi and Mumbai. Gandhinagar ...

. He oversaw this move and the new HQ SWAC was inaugurated on 1 May 1998 by the then

Chief Minister of Gujarat The chief minister of Gujarat is the head of government, chief executive of the government of the Indian state of Gujarat. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose Cabinet (government), council of ministers are Cabinet collective respons ...

Keshubhai Patel Keshubhai Patel (24 July 192829 October 2020) was an Indian politician who was the Chief Minister of Gujarat in 1995 and again from 1998 to 2001. He was a six-time member of Gujarat Legislative Assembly. He was a member of RSS since 1940s, of ...

. He served in this appointment during the

Kargil War The Kargil War, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Ladakh, then part of the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir (state), Jammu and Kashmir and along the Line of Control (LoC). In In ...

. He was awarded the ''Agni Award for Self Reliance'' in August 1999 for promoting indigenous development in the Indian Armed services. On 1 November 1999, he was appointed AOC-in-C of the premier

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 ...

(WAC). He took command from Air Marshal

Vinod Patney Air Marshal Vinod Patney, SYSM, PVSM, AVSM, VrC is a retired Indian Air Force officer. He is currently Director General Centre for Air Power Studies. Career Patney was commissioned in Indian Air Force in 1961. He has participated in conflict ...

at HQ WAC. He thus has the rare distinction of having commanded three operational commands of the IAF. On 1 August 2001, Krishnaswamy moved to Air HQ after being appointed Vice Chief of the Air Staff. On 30 October 2001, the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

announced that Krishnaswamy was appointed the next Chief of the Air Staff.

Chief of Air Staff

Krishnaswamy took over as the 19th Chief of the Air Staff on 31 December 2001 from

Anil Yashwant Tipnis Air Chief Marshal Anil Yashwant Tipnis, PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC (born 15 September 1940) served as Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force from 31 December 1998 to 31 December 2001. He commanded the Air Force to distinction during the Kar ...

. He served as full tenure of three years and relinquished command on 31 December 2004, handing over to Air Chief Marshal Shashindra Pal Tyagi.

Awards and decorations

Dates of rank

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krishnaswamy, Srinivasapuram Living people Indian Air Force officers Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal Chiefs of Air Staff (India) Vice chiefs of Air Staff (India) Military personnel from Chennai 1943 births National Defence College, India alumni Recipients of the Vayu Sena Medal Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Deputy chiefs of Air Staff (India)