Air Chief Marshal AP Singh took over as the new Chief of the Indian Air Force today. He began his work by paying obeisance at the National War Memorial along with his mother Pushwant Kaur.
He announced this year’s mantra during his address: “Sashakta Sudridh and Aatmanirbhar,” which roughly translates to “Empowered, Strong, and Self-Reliant.” He laid stress on the requirement of these principles in the future ahead for the IAF.
On the indigenous fighter aircraft programs, Singh said, “The Tejas are very close to my heart. I have been involved in the Tejas program since the flight testing phase, and it is very close to my heart,” he said. At the same time, however, he felt that though the Tejas was an important aircraft, it was somewhat small for current needs. “We have ordered over 200 of these aircraft, but now we need to focus more on the Mark 2 aircraft and the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft program,” he said.
Singh seemed very confident that India has the ability and capability within the country to do so. “We have the capacity and capability within the country to achieve this. Everyone must come together to make it a success. We are heavily relying on these two platforms,” he added.
Born on October 27, 1964, ACM Singh joined the IAF as a fighter pilot in December 1984. Nearly 40 years of distinguished service include various Command, Staff, Instructional, and Foreign appointments. He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, the Defence Services Staff College, and the National Defence College. Singh is a Qualified Flying Instructor, Experimental Test Pilot. And has accumulated over 5,000 flying hours on various fixed and rotary-wing aircraft.
During his tenure, ACM Singh has commanded an operational fighter squadron and a frontline air base. As a test pilot, he was the Team Leader of the MiG-29 Upgrade Project Management Team in Moscow (Russia). He has been the Project Director (Flight Test) at the National Flight Test Centre for flight testing of the Light Combat Aircraft, Tejas.
He tenanted various appointments of Air Defence Commander, South Western Air Command. And Senior Air Staff Officer, Eastern Air Command, before taking over the present appointment. He also did tenancy as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Central Air Command. With such a huge experience, ACM Singh has become well-placed to lead the IAF into its next chapter.
ANI
