| Air marshal | |
|---|---|
.svg) Air Marshal of the IAFrank flag | |
 Shoulder board of an air marshal | |
 Rank insignia of an air marshal | |
| Country |  India |
| Service branch |  Indian Air Force |
| Abbreviation | AM |
| Rank | Three-star rank |
| Next higher rank | Air chief marshal |
| Next lower rank | Air vice marshal |
| Equivalent ranks | Lieutenant general (Indian Army) Vice admiral (Indian Navy) |
Air marshal is athree-starair officer rank in theIndian Air Force. It is the second-highest active rank in the Indian Air Force. Air marshal ranks above thetwo-star rank ofair vice marshal and below thefour-star rank ofair chief marshal, which is held by theChief of the Air Staff.
The equivalent rank in theIndian Army islieutenant general and in theIndian Navy isvice admiral. Officers in the rank of air marshal hold important appointments at the air commands and at the air headquarters.
From 1947 to 1966, the appointment ofChief of the Air Staff, the professional head of theIndian Air Force was held by an air marshal. The position of the CAS was upgraded from air marshal toair chief marshal in 1966. The first IAF officer to hold the rank was ACMArjan Singh (later promoted to thefive-star rank ofmarshal of the Indian Air Force) who was promoted to the rank while he served as the CAS.[1][2]
Senior air marshals who are in the C-in-C grade (air commanders), are considered to be in a grade higher than other air marshals. They hold the most senior appointments like theVice Chief of the Air Staff and the heads of the seven air commands (styled "air officer commanding-in-chief"). The seven AOC-in-C appointments are:
At air headquarters, the principal staff officers (PSO) are senior air marshals. air marshals hold the appointments of assistant chief of air staff in different staff branches and those of additional director general. The Heads of services and directorates (Director General) are officers of the rank of air marshal. The senior air staff officers (chiefs of staff) of the seven commands of the Air Force are also of the rank of air marshal.
The flag of an Air vice marshal is sky blue with the Indian Air Force roundel surmounted by the eagle from the Indian Air Force badge, with three yellow stars in the fly. The badges of rank consist of two sky blue bands (each on a slightly wider navy blue band) over a sky blue band on a navy blue broad band. An air marshal wears gorget patches which are blue patches with three white stars. Air commanders in the C-in-C grade have additional oak leaves under the three white stars. In addition to this, the blue grey terrywool tunic has three sleeve stripes consisting of a broad band with two narrower bands.[3]
An air marshal in the C-in-C grade ranks at number 23 on theIndian order of precedence, along with lieutenant generals of theIndian Army and vice admirals of theIndian Navy in the C-in-C grade. The other air marshals rank at number 24 in the order of precedence.[4]
Air marshals in the C-in-C grade are at the apex pay scale (pay level 17), with a monthly pay of ₹225,000 (US$3,100). Other air marshals, in the HAG+ pay scale (pay level 16) draw lesser, depending on the years in service. However, since they should not draw equivalent or more than the next higher level, the remuneration is capped at ₹224,000.[5][6]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)