The Chief of the Air Staff is the head of military staff of the Indian Air Force. The COAS is the leader of the governing body of the Air Force and is usually the highest-ranking officer of the Air Force unless the Chief of Defence Staff of the Indian Armed Forces is an officer of the aerial branch of the armed forces.
The position is abbreviated as CAS in the Indian Air Force cables and communication and is always held by a full Air Chief Marshal since 1966. The chief is directly responsible for leading the Indian Air Force as the chief military adviser on aerial affairs. They are responsible for coordinating and chairing the military air staff of the Air force and ultimately are subject to the Chief of Defence and the government of India.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks fourth amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflict.
Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh, DFC (15 April 1919 – 16 September 2017) was a senior air officer of the Indian Air Force. He served as the 3rd Chief of the Air Staff from 1964 to 1969, leading the Air Force through the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. He was the first and only officer of the Indian Air Force (IAF) to be promoted to five-star rank as Marshal of the Indian Air Force, equal to the army rank of Field Marshal.
The current CAS is Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria who took office on 30 September 2019, following the retirement of Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa.
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Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria PVSM AVSM VM ADC took over as the Chief of the Air Staff on 30 September 2019. An alumnus of the prestigious National Defence Academy, he graduated from the Air Force Academy with the coveted ‘Sword of Honour’ and was commissioned in the fighter stream of Indian Air Force on 15 June 1980.
He has over 4270 hours of experience on twenty seven types of fighters as well as transport aircraft and holds the unique distinction of being an Experimental Test Pilot, a Cat ‘A’ Qualified Flying Instructor and a Pilot Attack Instructor. He completed his Masters in Defence Studies from Command and Staff College, Bangladesh.
During his illustrious career, spanning almost four decades, the Air Chief Marshal has held a number of significant field and staff appointments which include Command of a front line Jaguar Squadron, Command of a premier Air Force Station in South-Western sector, Commanding Officer of Flight Test Squadron at Aircraft & System Testing Establishment and Chief Test Pilot as well as Project Director of National Flight Test Centre on Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) project. He was extensively involved in the initial prototype flight testing on the LCA. He has tenanted the appointments of Air Attaché Moscow, Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Projects), Commandant National Defence Academy, Senior Air Staff Officer at Central Air Command, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Southern Air Command and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Training Command. Prior to taking over as the Chief of the Air Staff, he held the appointment of the Vice Chief of the Air Staff.
In recognition of his meritorious service the Air Chief Marshal has been awarded the Vayu Sena Medal (VM) in 2002, Ati Vishist Seva Medal (AVSM) in 2013 and Param Vishist Seva Medal (PVSM) in 2018. He was appointed as Principal Honorary ADC to the President of India on 01 October 2019.
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The list of the Indian Air Chief Marshals or Chief of the Air Staff is given in the table below:
| S.No | Name | Tenure |
| 1 | Air Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst | 15 August 1947-21 February 1950 |
| 2 | Air Marshal Sir Ronald Chapman | 22 February 1950-9 December 1951 |
| 3 | Air Marshal Sir Gerald Gibbs | 10 December 1951-31 March 1954 |
| 4 | Air Marshal S. Mukherjee | 01 April 1954-8 November 1960 |
| 5 | Air Marshal A.M. Engineer | 01 December 1960-31 July 1964 |
| 6 | Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh | 01 August 1964-15 July 1969 |
| 7 | Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal | 16 July 1969-15 January 1973 |
| 8 | Air Chief Marshal O.P. Mehra | 16 January 1973-31 January 1976 |
| 9 | Air Chief Marshal H. Moolgavkar | 01 February 1976-31 August 1978 |
| 10 | Air Chief Marshal I.H. Latif | 01 September 1978-31 August 1981 |
| 11 | Air Chief Marshal Dilbagh Singh | 01 September 1981-4 September 1984 |
| 12 | Air Chief Marshal L.M. Katre | 05 September 1984-1 July 1985 |
| 13 | Air Chief Marshal D.A. La Fontaine | 03 July 1985-31 July 1988 |
| 14 | Air Chief Marshal S.K. Mehra | 01 August 1988-31 July 1991 |
| 15 | Air Chief Marshal N.C. Suri | 01 August 1991-31 July 1993 |
| 16 | Air Chief Marshal S.K. Kaul | 01 August 1993-31 December 1995 |
| 17 | Air Chief Marshal S.K. Sareen | 01 January 1996-31 December 1998 |
| 18 | Air Chief Marshal A.Y. Tipnis | 01 January 1999-31 December 2001 |
| 19 | Air Chief Marshal S. Krishnaswamys | 31 December 2001-31 December 2004 |
| 20 | Air Chief Marshal S. P. Tyagi | 31 December 2004-31 March 2007 |
| 21 | Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major | 31 March 2007-31 May 2009 |
| 22 | Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik | 31 March 2009 – 31 July 2011 |
| 23 | Air Chief Marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne | 31 July 2011 – 31 December 2013 |
| 24 | Air Marshal Arup Raha | 31 December 2013 – 31 December 2016 |
| 25 | Air Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa | 31 December 2016 – 30 September 2019 |
| 26 | Air Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria | 30 September 2019 – Incumbent |
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