Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari, took over as the 27th Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) succeeding Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria on 30 September 2021.
Indian Air Force is the fourth largest air force of the world and was founded on October 8, 1932. The primary mission of the Indian Air Force is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflict.
The Chief of Air Staff is the highest rank in Indian Air Force and is equivalent to the post of Field marshal in the Army and Admiral of the Fleet in the Indian Navy.
The “Chief of Air Marshal” was designated as Chief of Air Staff till 1966. The highest rank in India’s IAF is Marshal of the Air Force, which is conferred by the President of India only in exceptional circumstances.
There have been 26 Air Chief Marshal in the Indian Air Force to date.
This article enlists the Air Chief Marshal of the Indian Air Force since 1947. This is an important topic for UPSC and is also relevant for other government exams.
List of Air Chief Marshal of India (1947- 2021)
| Name | Rank | Tenure |
| Sir Thomas Elmhirst | Air Marshal | 15 August 1947 – 23 February 1950 |
| Sir Ronald Ivelaw-Chapman | Air Chief Marshal | 23 February 1950 – 9 December 1951 |
| Gerald Gibbs | Air Marshal | 10 December 1951 – 31 March 1954 |
| Subroto Mukerjee | Air Marshal | 1 April 1954 – 31 March 1955 |
| Aspy Engineer | Air Marshal | 1 December 1960 – 31 July 1964 |
| Arjan Singh | Air Chief Marshal | 1 August 1964 – 15 July 1969 |
| Pratap Chandra Lal | Air Chief Marshal | 16 July 1969 – 15 January 1973 |
| Om Prakash Mehra | Air Chief Marshal | 16 January 1973 – 31 January 1976 |
| Hrushikesh Moolgavkar | Air Chief Marshal | 1 February 1976 – 30 August 1978 |
| Idris Hasan Latif | Air Chief Marshal | 1 September 1978 – 30 August 1981 |
| Dilbagh Singh | Air Chief Marshal | 1 September 1981 – 3 September 1984 |
| Lakshman Madhav Katre | Air Chief Marshal | 3 September 1984 – 1 July 1985 |
| Denis La Fontaine | Air Chief Marshal | 3 July 1985 – 31 July 1988 |
| Surinder Mehra | Air Chief Marshal | 1 August 1988 – 31 July 1991 |
| Nirmal Chandra Suri | Air Chief Marshal | 31 July 1991 – 31 July 1993 |
| Swaroop Krishna Kaul | Air Chief Marshal | 1 August 1993 – 31 December 1995 |
| Satish Sareen | Air Chief Marshal | 31 December 1995 – 31 December 1998 |
| Anil Yashwant Tipnis | Air Chief Marshal | 31 December 1998 – 31 December 2001 |
| Srinivasapuram Krishnaswamy | Air Chief Marshal | 31 December 2001 – 31 December 2004 |
| Shashindra Pal Tyagi | Air Chief Marshal | 31 December 2004 – 31 March 2007 |
| Fali Homi Major | Air Chief Marshal | 31 March 2007 – 31 May 2009 |
| Pradeep Vasant Naik | Air Chief Marshal | 31 May 2009 – 31 July 2011 |
| Norman Anil Kumar Browne | Air Chief Marshal | 31 July 2011 – 31 December 2013 |
| Arup Raha | Air Chief Marshal | 31 December 2013 – 31 December 2016 |
| Birender Singh Dhanoa | Air Chief Marshal | 31 December 2016 – 30 September 2019 |
| Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria | Air Chief Marshal | 30 September 2019 – Incumbent |
Arjan Singh was conferred with the designation of Marshal of the Indian Air Force in 2002 by the President of India for his outstanding leadership during the Indo-Pak war of 1965.
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