Air Marshal Sandeep Singh has been appointed as the new Vice Chief of Air Staff. Singh will succeed incumbent Air Marshal VR Chaudhari who will take charge as the next IAF chief on September 30.

The new changes have been made in the wake of the superannuation of present Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria who will complete his two-year term on September 30.

With the announcement of the new Air Force chief, a massive reshuffle is taking place in the service as new vice chief and two Commanders-in-Chief have been announced on Friday.

Air Marshal Sandeep Singh, AVSM, VM is an officer in the Indian Air Force. He is currently serving as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C), South Western Air Command. He took over the office on 1 May 2021, following the superannuation of Air Marshal Surendra Kumar Ghotia. He has been appointed as the next Vice Chief of the Air Staff succeeding Air Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari on his elevation.

Sandeep Singh was commissioned as a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force on December 22, 1983. He has flying experience of over 4780 hrs of operational and test flying experience on Su-30 MKI, MiG-29, MiG-21, Kiran, An-32, AVRO, Jaguar, and Mirage 2000.

A recipient of the Sword of Honor, Sandeep Singh is a qualified training instructor (A2 category). He was instrumental in the induction of Su-30MKI in the Indian Air Force.

With a long career of 37 years, he has commanded a fighter aircraft squadron, was an instructor at Air Force test pilot school, and project test pilot for the Su-30MKI. Due to his proficient knowledge of the Su-30MKI platform, Sandeep Singh has been the mainstay liaison for the implementation of various weapons and systems by DRDO.

He served as the Deputy Chief of Air Staff from 1 October 2019 to 30 April 2021. He has also served as Senior Air Staff Officer for the Eastern Air Command from 1 January 2019 to 30 September 2019.

During his career, Sandeep Singh was commended by the Chief of Air Staff and has been awarded the Vayu Sena Medal (VM), the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) in 2013.

Also Read: Air Marshal V R Chaudhari Appointed Next Chief Of Air Staff

Present Western Air Command chief Air Marshal Balabhadra Radha Krishna has now been appointed as the new Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CISC) to the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee. He would be the first IAF officer in the last almost six years to take over as the CISC which plays an important role in all tri-services matters working under the Chief of Defence Staff.

In the Western Air Command, Krishna would be replaced by Air Marshal Amit Dev as the new commander. Dev is already serving as the chief of Eastern Air Command. He would have a tenure of around six months in the new office in Delhi.

Appointments to the Eastern, South-Western and Southern commands are yet to be announced and orders are expected to be issued soon.

Also Read: List Of Indian Air Chief Marshals [UPDATED]