AP Singh takes charge as Air Chief Marshal

 Air Chief Marshal AP Singh Monday took over as the Indian Air Force chief, succeeding Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari, who superannuated after a tenure of three years.

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The top officer is a Qualified Flying Instructor and an Experimental Test Pilot with more than 5,000 hours of flying experience on a variety of fixed and rotary wing aircraft.

The officer commanded a MiG-27 squadron and a frontline air base and as a test pilot, he led the MiG-29 Upgrade Project Management Team at Moscow, among a variety of command, staff, instructional and foreign appointments that he held in his career of nearly four decades.

Who is AP Singh?
Singh, born on October 27, 1964, joined the fighter pilot stream of the Indian Air Force in December 1984. Throughout his extensive and illustrious career spanning nearly four decades, he has held various command, staff, instructional, and foreign positions.
A graduate of the National Defence Academy, Defence Services Staff College, and National Defence College, the air officer is not only a qualified flying instructor but also an experimental test pilot. His flying experience encompasses a wide range of fixed and rotary wing aircraft, totaling more than 5,000 hours.

During his career, Singh has led an operational fighter squadron and a frontline air base. As a test pilot, he spearheaded the MiG-29 upgrade project management team in Moscow. Additionally, he served as the project director (flight test) at the National Flight Test Centre, where he was responsible for flight testing the Light Combat Aircraft, Tejas.
Singh assumes command of the IAF amidst concerns regarding delays in the delivery of the LCA Tejas-Mark 1A variant to the force by the state-owned aerospace giant Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).