Air Chief Marshal of India

The Indian Air Force is considered the world’s 4th biggest air force. This was founded on the 8th of October, 1932. The CAS, or the Chief of Air Staff, holds the highest rank in the Air Force of India and his post is equal to the post that Field Marshal in the Army holds or the Indian Navy’s Admiral of the Fleet. The CAS is considered the head of the Air Force military staff of India. CAS is also the Air Force’s lead governing body and is commonly the officer of Air Force’s who has the highest-rank.

The position of the Indian Air Force is shortened to CAS as in communications and cables of the AIF and communication. Since 1966, the Air Chief Marshal has held this post. The chief remains directly liable to lead the AIR in the form of military adviser chief on some aerial affairs. He remains liable for coordinating as well as chairing the Air Force’s air staff and finally, subject to the govt. of India and the Chief of Defence.

If you go through the list of Air Chief Marshal of India, then you will find that to date, there have been twenty-six Air Chief Marshals in the AIF.

CAS Office

During Independence, the supreme head AF (Air Force) is elected as Air Marshal Commanding, Royal Indian Air Force. On 1948 1st of March, the designation of CAS was included with an added re-designation of Commander-in-Chief, Chief of the Air Staff, Royal Indian Air Force by 21st of June for maintaining uniformity across the 3 armed services.

When India became a republic on 26th of January, 1950, the designation of Royal was dropped and so, it was re-designated as chief of the Indian Air Force to Commander-in-Chief and Chief of the Air Staff, Indian Air Force.

The Commanders-in-Chief Act 1955 was re-designated as the chief of the Indian Air Force to Chief of Air Staff. Until 1966, this position was taken by a 3-star graded Air Marshal when this post was promoted to 4-star grade of the Air Chief Marshal.

The ACC (Appointments Committee of the Cabinet) makes the important appointments that are made to the office. The CAS does reach superannuation upon attaining 62 years or 3 years in the office, whichever seems earlier.

First Chief of Air Staff

Air Marshal Subroto Mukherjee was the first Chief of Air Staff. He was born on the 5th of March 1911 and died on the 8th of November 1960. His career spanned for nearly 3 decades and he got many awards until his untimely death in 1960. He was born in a Bengali family and he got his education in India and the UK. He became a member of the Royal Air Force. Later, he turned into one of the initial recruits of the AIF in 1933. 

From 1933-1941, Mukherjee flew with the Number one Squadron AIF and he witnessed some extensive action that happened in the North-West Frontier Province at the time of his stint. In 1941, he attended the Staff College of Quetta before he became command Number one Squadron in 1942. 

From the period of 1943-1944, Mukherjee was the commander of RAF Station Kohat before he shifted to the Air HQ in the form of the director of flying training. In 1945, he was awarded the OBE. After India was partitioned, he gained the post of Dep. Air Commander, Royal Indian Air Force. When he finished the course of higher command from the Imperial Defence College, Mukherjee was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Air Force in 1954.

Subroto Mukherjee was also the one who witnessed the change of the Indian Air Force into an all-jet force. From 1955, he held the post of Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee. In the year 1960, while visiting Tokyo, he died. His untimely demise became a matter of shock to the AF as well as to the entire nation. However, he was cremated with military honors in New Delhi. 

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List of Air Force Chief Name From the Year 1947 to 2021

The Air Force Chief Names from 1947-2021 are:

Who is Air Chief Marshal of India?

The CAS is considered the Commander and head of the AIF. The present Air Force Chief is Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria. Bhadauria took office on the 30th of September, 2019. The chief objective of the AIF is securing Indian Airspace. Additionally, he also conducts aerial warfare when armed conflicts happen. 

Till date, Arjan Singh is the only one who has been honored with the position of the Marshal of the Air of India in the year 2002. He received this post for his outstanding services in commanding the Indian Air Force at the time of the Indo-Pakistan War that happened in the year 1965.

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Some Vital Facts of The Chief of Air Staff

• Who was the 1st CAS of India?

Subroto Mukherjee was the first Air Chief Marshal of India and he was an Air Marshal. His term lasted for one year. It began from the 1st of April 1954 till the 31st of March 1955.

• Who was the CAS at the time of the Kargil War?

At the time of the Kargil War, Anil Yashwant Tipnis happened to be the Air Chief Marshal.

• Who is the present Vice Chief of Air Staff?

The Vice Chief of Air Staff is recognized as the 2nd highest-ranking officer of the Air Force of India. Air Marshal Harjit Singh Arora is the present Vice Chief of Air Staff.