Air Marshal VR Chaudhari to be next Chief of Air Staff; IAF chief to retire on Sept 30

Air Marshal VR Chaudhari, presently Vice Chief of Air Staff, will be the next Chief of Air Staff, the government informed on Tuesday. The current Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria will retire from the service on September 30, 2021, the defence ministry informed.

"Government has decided to appoint Air Marshal V R Chaudhari, PVSM, AVSM, VM presently Vice Chief of Air Staff as the next Chief of Air Staff. Current Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria, PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC retires from Service on 30th Sep 2021," Bharat Bhushan Babu, spokesperson of defence ministry tweeted.

Air Marshal Vikram Chaudhari was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on December 29, 1982. He has flying experience of over 3800 hrs on fighter jets and trainer aircraft. 

An alumnus of National Defence Academy, Air Marshal Chaudhari graduated from Defence Services Staff College. He took over charge as IAF Vice Chief on July 2021. He succeeds Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria who will retire on September 30.

Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria to retire on September-end

Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria, who assumed office on September 30, 2019, will retire on September 30. Clocked over 4,250 hours of flying, Bhadauria has experience on over 26 different types of fighter jets and transport aircraft.