Air Chief Marshal AP Singh Becomes New Indian Air Force Chief

On October 1, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh took charge as the new Indian Air Force Chief in New Delhi. He received blessings from his mother, Pushwant Kaur, at the National War Memorial.

Focus on Indigenous Aircraft

Singh highlighted the importance of the indigenous Tejas aircraft program, which he has been closely associated with since its flight testing. He mentioned that while the Tejas is small for current needs, over 200 have been ordered, and the focus will now shift to the Mark2 aircraft and the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft program.

Singh stated, “We have the capacity and capability within the country to achieve this. Everybody has to come together to make it a success. We are relying heavily on these two platforms.”

Distinguished Career

Born on October 27, 1964, Singh was commissioned into the fighter pilot stream of the Indian Air Force in December 1984. With nearly 40 years of service, he has held various command, staff, instructional, and foreign appointments. He is a Qualified Flying Instructor and an Experimental Test Pilot with over 5,000 hours of flying experience.

Singh has commanded an operational fighter squadron and a frontline air base. He led the MiG-29 Upgrade Project Management Team in Moscow and was the Project Director (Flight Test) at the National Flight Test Centre for the Tejas aircraft. He has also served as Air Defence Commander at South Western Air Command and Senior Air Staff Officer at Eastern Air Command. Before his current role, he was the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Central Air Command.