| Chief of the Air Staff | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
 Indian Air Force | |
| Status | Professional head of aerial branch of theIndian Armed Forces. |
| Abbreviation | CAS |
| Member of | Defence Acquisition Council Defence Planning Committee National Security Council |
| Reports to |  President of IndiaPrime Minister of IndiaMinister of Defence.svg) Chief of Defence Staff |
| Residence | Air House 23,Akbar Road,New Delhi |
| Seat | Air HQ, Vayu Bhawan, New Delhi |
| Appointer | Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) President of India |
| Term length | 3 years or at the age of 62, whichever is earlier. |
| Constituting instrument | Air Force Act, 1950 (Act No. 45 of 1950) |
| Precursor | Chief of the Air Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Indian Air Force |
| Formation | 26 January 1950; 75 years ago (1950-01-26) |
| First holder | Air Marshal SirThomas Elmhirst |
| Deputy |  Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS) |
| Salary | ₹250,000 (US$3,000) monthly[1][2] |
| Website | Official website |
TheChief of the Air Staff (CAS) is a statutory office held by the professional head of theIndian Air Force (IAF), theaerialbranch of theIndian Armed Forces.[3] Customarily held by afour-starair chief marshal, the CAS is the senior-most operational officer of the IAF, mandated with the responsibilities of supervising the force's overall functioning during states of peace and wartime, committing to the establishment-cum-continuity ofair deterrence and executing India's security objectives vis-à-vis the preservation of the country'sair sovereignty.[4]
Being a permanent member of theChiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) and theNational Security Council (NSC), the CAS also bears the responsibility of advising the nation'scivilian leadership i.e., theGovernment of India on all matters privy to the IAF.[5]
Statutorily, the CAS ranks 12th-overall in theIndian order of precedence, and is the IAF's status-equivalent of theChief of Defence Staff, theChief of the Army Staff and theChief of the Naval Staff - all three positions of which are also occupied by four-star officers from the armed forces.[6]
Seated atAir Headquarters (Air HQ), stationed inNew Delhi, the CAS is the senior-most operational officer of the IAF, and is tasked with the following:
In addition to these responsibilities, the CAS is also a permanent member of:
The office's eminence in the aforementioned groups thus grants the appointee with the role to advise theMinister of Defence (Raksha Mantri or RM) on the affairs related to the IAF's functioning and the promotion of an comprehensive integrated planning policy with respect to the affairs of tri-service integration, doctrinal strategy, capability development, defence acquisition and infrastructure.[10][11]
As the professional head of the force, the CAS is assisted by one subordinate officer and oneprincipal staff officer, namely:
Initially, beginning in the pre-independence era, until 1966, the office of CAS was held by athree-star air marshal; the first six chiefs in the post-independence IAF were three-star air marshals.[12] However, the office’s rank-specifications was raised to thefour-star rank ofair chief marshal in January 1966, initially as a recognitive measure to Air MarshalArjan Singh, the IAF's third and then-incumbent CAS, for his leadership of the IAF during theIndo-Pakistani War of 1965; every CAS-appointee since then has been an air chief marshal.[12]
The move to appoint a new designate to the position usually begins three months before the change-of-command, wherein theMinistry of Defence (MoD) reviews the résumés of the IAF's senior-most air marshals, which regularly includes theVice Chief of the Air Staff and at-most three of theAir Officer Commanding-in-Chiefs (AOC-in-C) of the force’s combatant commands.[13] Appointments to the position are made by theAppointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) - comprising thePrime Minister and theMinister of Defence, upon recommendation from Air HQ; appointees to the office are subsequently promoted to the rank of air chief marshal.[14]
Since 1950, the senior-most air marshals in the IAF's command cadre have customarily been appointed as CAS; this tradition was broken in 1973, when Air MarshalOm Prakash Mehra was promoted over two senior officers, and in 1988, when Air MarshalS. K. Mehra was promoted over one senior officer to become CAS.[15][16]
During the initial years of the post-independence IAF, CAS-appointees were given one four-year term, with the possibility of extension; Air MarshalSubroto Mukherjee was the longest serving chief – at 6 years, 7 months, 7 days, and the only appointee to have ever received a second four-year term; nevertheless, he unexpectedly died halfway through it.[17]
Currently, according to theRegulations for the Air Force, 2000 – a CAS-appointee reachessuperannuation upon the completion of three years in the position or at the age of 62, whichever is earlier.[18] However, an appointee may also be dismissed from office by thePresident of India before the conclusion of the tenure under Section 18-19 of theAir Force Act, 1950 and Article 310 of theConstitution.[19]
Additionally, a CAS-appointee is also eligible to be selected for the position ofChief of Defence Staff (CDS), in accordance with theAir Force (Amendment) Regulations, 2022 - which prescribes that the designated nominee, in this case the CAS, must be under the age of 62 at the time of appointment as CDS; as of 2024, no CAS-appointee has ever been appointed as CDS.[20][21]
Since the establishment of theIndian Air Force (IAF) in October 1932 (later rechristened theRoyal Indian Air Force (RIAF)), the organization's professional head bore the undermentioned designations:[22]
The selection of the first Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Indian Air Force was finalized in July 1947, following deliberations between the British and Indian leadership. Air Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst was appointed to the position, with the understanding that he would oversee the RIAF's transition to an independent service and mentor its emerging Indian leadership.[25]
Upon independence and thesubsequent partition of the subcontinent, RIAF India was bifurcated into two new entities: a successor Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) - responsible for theDominion of India, and the newly-formedRoyal Pakistan Air Force (RPAF) - responsible for theDominion of Pakistan. However, the former role ofAir Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Air Forces in India was trifurcated into three positions:
Whilst the RIAF and RPAF maintained their respective commanding officers, the Deputy Supreme Commander (Air), who worked for theSupreme Commander's Headquarters (Supreme HQ), acted as the overall coordinator for the two new air forces, under the additional title ofAir Officer Commanding RAF Units in India and Pakistan.[26] The role was disbanded in November 1947, following which India and Pakistan subsequently gained full organizational control of the RIAF and RPAF, respectively.[26]
On 1 March 1948, the designation of the RIAF's commanding officer was rechristened asChief of the Air Staff,[27] and again toChief of the Air Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Air Force (CAS/C-in-C, RIAF) on 21 June - as a measure to reflect uniformity with the C-in-Cs of the post-independenceIndian Army and theRoyal Indian Navy.[28] Upon India'sestablishment as a republic on 26 January 1950, the RIAF was rechristened as the Indian Air Force (IAF), dropping theRoyal-prefix; subsequently, the position's designation was again modified toChief of the Air Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Indian Air Force (CAS/C-in-C, IAF).[29] In the initial years after independence, up until 1950, the position was occupied by two air marshals seconded from the RAF, namely,Sir Thomas Walker Elmhirst andSir Ronald Ivelaw-Chapman.[29]
In 1954,Air MarshalSir Gerald Ernest Gibbs, the IAF's third and then-serving CAS/C-in-C, and originally an RAF-secondment, retired; as a consequence,Air Vice MarshalSubroto Mukherjee - then the IAF'sDeputy Chief of the Air Staff (DCAS), was promoted to rank of Air Marshal and succeeded him as the first native and first non-RAF C-in-C of the force.[30] A year later, in 1955, the designation of C-in-C was shortened to simplyChief of the Air Staff (CAS) through theCommanders-In-Chief (Change in Designation) Act, 1955; as a result of the Act, Mukherjee's tenure continued under the new designation, making him the last C-in-C.[31]
In January 2002, then-retired Air Chief MarshalArjan Singh, the IAF's third CAS, was promoted to thefive-star rank ofMarshal of the Indian Air Force (MIAF), in recognition of his leadership during the1965 Indo-Pakistani War - which made him the only CAS-appointee to have ever been promoted to the rank; his promotion occurred thirty-three years after his superannuation.[32] To note, although the rank-holder of MIAF isnominally the highest-ranking officer in the IAF, the rank is all but titular with no operational duties attached, which leaves the CAS as the highestoperationally-active officer in the IAF.[33]
(**Seconded from theRoyal Air Force)
| No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Elmhirst, ThomasAir Marshal Sir Thomas ElmhirstCB, KBE, AFC** (1895–1982) [a] | 15 August 1947 | 20 June 1948 | 310 days |
| No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Elmhirst, ThomasAir Marshal Sir Thomas ElmhirstCB, KBE, AFC** (1895–1982) [a] | 21 June 1948 | 25 January 1950 | 1 year, 218 days |
| No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Elmhirst, ThomasAir Marshal Sir Thomas ElmhirstKBE, CB, AFC** (1895–1982) [a][34] | 26 January 1950 | 23 February 1950 | 28 days |
| 2 | | Ivelaw-Chapman, RonaldAir Marshal Sir Ronald Ivelaw-ChapmanKBE, CB, DFC, AFC** (1899–1978) [a] | 23 February 1950 | 9 December 1951 | 1 year, 289 days |
| 3 | | Gibbs, GeraldAir Marshal Gerald Ernest GibbsCIE, CBE, MC &Two Bars** (1896–1992) [a] | 10 December 1951 | 31 March 1954 | 2 years, 111 days |
| 4 |  | Mukerjee, SubrotoAir Marshal Subroto MukerjeeOBE (1911–1960) | 1 April 1954 | 31 March 1955 | 364 days |
| No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | | Mukerjee, SubrotoAir Marshal Subroto MukerjeeOBE (1911–1960) | 1 April 1955 | 8 November 1960 † | 5 years, 221 days |
| 5 |  | Engineer, AspyAir Marshal Aspy Merwan EngineerDFC (1912–2002) | 1 December 1960 | 31 July 1964 | 3 years, 243 days |
| 6 |  | Singh, ArjanMarshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan SinghDFC (1919–2017) | 1 August 1964 | 15 July 1969 | 4 years, 348 days |
| 7 |  | Lal, PratapAir Chief Marshal Pratap Chandra LalDFC (1916–1982) | 16 July 1969 | 15 January 1973 | 3 years, 183 days |
| 8 |  | Mehra, OmAir Chief Marshal Om Prakash MehraPVSM (1919–2015) | 16 January 1973 | 31 January 1976 | 3 years, 15 days |
| 9 |  | Moolgavkar, HrushikeshAir Chief Marshal Hrushikesh MoolgavkarPVSM, MVC (1920–2015) | 1 February 1976 | 30 August 1978 | 2 years, 241 days |
| 10 |  | Latif, IdrisAir Chief Marshal Idris Hasan LatifPVSM (1923–2018) | 1 September 1978 | 30 August 1981 | 3 years, 29 days |
| 11 | | Singh, DilbaghAir Chief Marshal Dilbagh SinghPVSM, AVSM, VM (1926–2001) | 1 September 1981 | 3 September 1984 | 3 years, 2 days |
| 12 | | Katre, LakshmanAir Chief Marshal Lakshman Madhav KatrePVSM, AVSM (1926–1985) | 3 September 1984 | 1 July 1985 † | 301 days |
| 13 | | Fontaine, DenisAir Chief Marshal Denis Anthony La FontainePVSM, AVSM, VM (1929–2011) | 3 July 1985 | 31 July 1988 | 3 years, 28 days |
| 14 |  | Mehra, SurinderAir Chief Marshal Surinder Kumar MehraPVSM, AVSM, VM (1932–2003) | 1 August 1988 | 31 July 1991 | 2 years, 364 days |
| 15 | | Suri, NirmalAir Chief Marshal Nirmal Chandra SuriPVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC (born 1933) | 31 July 1991 | 31 July 1993 | 2 years |
| 16 |  | Kaul, SwaroopAir Chief Marshal Swaroop Krishna KaulPVSM, MVC, ADC (1935–2025) | 1 August 1993 | 31 December 1995 | 2 years, 152 days |
| 17 | | Sareen, SatishAir Chief Marshal Satish Kumar SareenPVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC (born 1939) | 31 December 1995 | 31 December 1998 | 3 years |
| 18 | | Tipnis, AnilAir Chief Marshal Anil Yashwant TipnisPVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC (born 1940) | 31 December 1998 | 31 December 2001 | 3 years |
| 19 |  | Krishnaswamy, SrinivasapuramAir Chief Marshal Srinivasapuram KrishnaswamyPVSM, AVSM, VM (born 1943) | 31 December 2001 | 31 December 2004 | 3 years |
| 20 | | Tyagi, ShashindraAir Chief Marshal Shashindra Pal TyagiPVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC (born 1945) | 31 December 2004 | 31 March 2007 | 2 years, 90 days |
| 21 |  | Major, FaliAir Chief Marshal Fali Homi MajorPVSM, AVSM, SC, VM, ADC (born 1947) | 31 March 2007 | 31 May 2009 | 2 years, 61 days |
| 22 | .jpg) | Naik, PradeepAir Chief Marshal Pradeep Vasant NaikPVSM, VSM, ADC (born 1949) | 31 May 2009 | 31 July 2011 | 2 years, 61 days |
| 23 |  | Browne, NormanAir Chief Marshal Norman Anil Kumar BrownePVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC (born 1951) | 31 July 2011 | 31 December 2013 | 2 years, 153 days |
| 24 |  | Raha, ArupAir Chief Marshal Arup RahaPVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC (born 1954) | 31 December 2013 | 31 December 2016 | 3 years |
| 25 |  | Dhanoa, BirenderAir Chief Marshal Birender Singh DhanoaPVSM, AVSM, YSM, VM, ADC (born 1957) | 31 December 2016 | 30 September 2019 | 2 years, 273 days |
| 26 |  | Bhadauria, RakeshAir Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh BhadauriaPVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC (born 1959) | 30 September 2019 | 30 September 2021 | 2 years |
| 27 |  | Chaudhari, Vivek RamAir Chief Marshal Vivek Ram ChaudhariPVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC (born 1962) | 30 September 2021 | 30 September 2024 | 3 years |
| 28 | | Singh, Amar PreetAir Chief Marshal Amar Preet SinghPVSM, AVSM (born 1964) | 30 September 2024 | Incumbent | 1 year, 19 days |
| Air Marshal Commanding, Royal Indian Air Force (1947–1948) | | |
|---|---|---|
| Chief of the Air Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Air Force (1948–1950) | ||
| Chief of the Air Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Indian Air Force (1950–1955) | ||
| Chief of the Air Staff (1955–present) |
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(**Seconded from theRoyal Air Force) | ||
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