"THE INDIAN AIR FORCE IS WORKING HARD TO REMAIN A CREDIBLE AIR FORCE"

Commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on December 21, 1984, Air Chief Marshal AMAR PREET SINGH PVSM AVSM took over as the 28th Air Chief of India on September 30, 2024.

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If we go into a scientific approach to assess the operational implications of narrowing the asset base, the requirements may match the ones projected by the IAF regularly. While we do have some shortages, we have worked to optimise our sustenance and activity cycles to ensure a high tempo of operations and extract more from what we have. The government is also supportive in our endeavour to make good our requirements of weapons, platforms and systems in an expeditious manner.

He is an alumnus of National Defence Academy, Defence Services Staff College and National Defence College. He is a Qualified Flying Instructor and an Experimental Test Pilot with more than 5000 hours of service flying on a variety of fixed and rotary-wing aircraft.

His operational tenures include being the Commanding Officer of a MiG 27 Sqn and Air Officer Commanding of a frontline air base. As a test pilot, he led the MiG 29 Upgrade Project Management Team in Moscow, Russia. He was also the Project Director (Flight Test) at the National Flight Test Centre, looking after the flight testing of Tejas. He has held staff appointments of Air Defence Commander at HQ South Western Air Command, and Senior Air Staff Officer at HQ Eastern Air Command. He then took over as Air Officer Commandingin-Chief, Central Air Command. Prior to taking over as the 28th Chief of the Air Staff, the Air Officer held the appointment of Vice Chief of the Air Staff.

While acknowledging that the IAF faces many challenges at a time when the characters of the warfare are undergoing changes, he assured PRAKASH NANDA that India has a very credible and potent air force to give a befitting response to any contingency. Excerpts of the interview: