List of Air Chief Marshal of India from 1947 to 2024

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has been led by a series of distinguished Air Chief Marshals since 1947. These leaders have played a crucial role in modernizing and strengthening the IAF. Explore the complete list of Air Chief Marshal of India from 1947 to 2024.

Akansha Arora Published On September 21st, 2024

The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Since its inception, many distinguished officers have served as the Chief of Air Staff, with the rank of Air Chief Marshal, leading the force through significant phases of its development and modernization. This article provides a list of Air Chief Marshals who have served from 1947 to 2024.

Current Air Chief Marshal of India

Air Marshal A.P. Singh has been appointed as the next Chief of the Air Staff, succeeding Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari on September 30, 2024. An experienced fighter pilot with over 5000 hours of flying, Air Marshal Singh has served in key roles, including commanding a fighter squadron and overseeing the MiG-29 upgrade project in Russia. He is a recipient of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal. Currently, he is the Vice Chief of the Indian Air Force.

List of Air Chief Marshal of India from 1947 to 2024

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has been led by a series of distinguished Air Chief Marshals since 1947. These leaders have played a crucial role in modernizing and strengthening the IAF, guiding it through pivotal moments in India’s defense history from independence to 2024.

Here is the complete list of Air Chief Marshal of India from 1947 to 2024:

List of Air Chief Marshal of India from 1947 to 2024
Name	Rank	Tenure
Name	Rank	From	To
Sir Thomas Elmhirst	Air Marshal	15^th August 1947	23^rd February 1950
Sir Ronald Ivelaw-Chapman	Air Chief Marshal	23^rd February 1950	09^th December 1951
Gerald Gibbs	Air Marshal	10^th December 1951	31^st March 1954
Subroto Mukherjee	Air Marshal	01^st April 1954	31^st March 1955
Aspy Engineer	Air Marshal	01^st December 1960	31^st July 1964
Arjan Singh	Air Chief Marshal	01^st August 1964	15^th July 1969
Pratap Chandra Lal	Air Chief Marshal	16^th July 1969	16^th January 1973
Om Prakash Mehra	Air Chief Marshal	16^th January 1973	31^st January 1976
Hrushikesh Moolgavkar	Air Chief Marshal	01^st February 1976	30^th August 1978
Idris Hasan Latif	Air Chief Marshal	01^st September 1978	30^th August 1981
Dilbagh Singh	Air Chief Marshal	01^st September 1981	03^rd September 1984
Lakshman Madhav Katre	Air Chief Marshal	03^rd September 1984	01^st July 1985
Denis La Fountaine	Air Chief Marshal	03^rd July 1985	31^st July 1988
Surinder Mehra	Air Chief Marshal	01^st August 1988	31^st July 1991
Nirmal Chandra Suri	Air Chief Marshal	31^st July 1991	31^st July 1993
Swaroop Krishna Kaul	Air Chief Marshal	01^st August 1993	31^st December 1995
Satish Saren	Air Chief Marshal	31^st December 1995	31^st December 1998
Anil Yashwant Tipnis	Air Chief Marshal	31^st December 1998	31^st December 2001
Srinivasapuram Krishnaswamy	Air Chief Marshal	31^st December 2001	31^st December 2004
Shashindra Pal Tyagi	Air Chief Marshal	31^st December 2004	31^st March 2007
Fali Homi Major	Air Chief Marshal	31^st March 2007	31^st May 2009
Pradeep Vasant Naik	Air Chief Marshal	31^st May 2009	31^st July 2011
Norman Anil Kumar Browne	Air Chief Marshal	31^st July 2011	31^st December 2013
Arup Raha	Air Chief Marshal	31^st December 2013	31^st December 2016
Birender Singh Dhanoa	Air Chief Marshal	31^st December 2016	30^th September 2019
Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria	Air Chief Marshal	30^th September 2019	30^th September 2021
Vivek Ram Chaudhari	Air Chief Marshal	30^th September 2021	30^th September 2024
Amar Preet Singh	Air Chief Marshal	30^th September 2024	–