Air Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari PVSM AVSM VM took over as the Vice Chief of the Air Staff on 01 Jul 21. He has succeeded Air Marshal HS Arora PVSM AVSM, who retired after more than 39 years of illustrious service on 30 Jun 21.
Air Marshal Chaudhari was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Air Force on December 29, 1982, and has a flying experience of more than 3800 hrs on a wide variety of fighter and trainer aircraft, an IAF statement said.
He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington. Prior to the present appointment, he was Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) of the Western Air Command. He succeeds Air Marshal H.S. Arora, who retired on Wednesday after over 39 years of service.
While Lieutenant General Sanjeev Kumar Sharma assumed the appointment of Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Strat) of Indian Army on 01 July 2021. Prior to assuming this key appointment, he was serving as the Director-General Military Intelligence.
Also Read : Coco Islands: Can India Take It Back?
Air Marshal BR Krishna Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Shaurya Chakra, took over as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) of Western Air Command on 01 Jul 21.
The Air Marshal was commissioned in the IAF in Dec 1983 as a Fighter Pilot. In a distinguished career spanning nearly 38 years, the Air Officer, being a Qualified Flying Instructor and an Experimental Test Pilot, has flown a wide variety of fighters, transports, and helicopters in the inventory of IAF. He has a flying experience of nearly 5000 hours, including operational, instructional, and test flying.
