Vivek Ram Chaudhari | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait | |
| 27thChief of the Air Staff | |
| In office 30 September 2021 (2021-09-30) – 30 September 2024 (2024-09-30) | |
| President | |
| Preceded by | R. K. S. Bhadauria |
| Succeeded by | Amar Preet Singh |
| 45thVice Chief of the Air Staff | |
| In office 1 July 2021 (2021-07-01) – 30 September 2021 (2021-09-30) | |
| Preceded by | Harjit Singh Arora |
| Succeeded by | Sandeep Singh |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1962-09-04)4 September 1962 (age 63)[1] |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent | Rambhau Ganapat Chaudhari (Father) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  India |
| Branch/service |  Indian Air Force |
| Years of service | 29 December 1982 - 30 September 2024 |
| Rank |  Air Chief Marshal |
| Unit | No. 28 Squadron |
| Commands | Western Air Command Lohegaon Air Force Station 8 Forward Base Support Unit No. 28 Squadron |
| Battles/wars | Operation Meghdoot Kargil war |
| Service number | 16978[2] |
| Awards |  Param Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Vayu Sena Medal |
Air Chief MarshalVivek Ram Chaudhari,PVSM AVSM VM ADC is a retired four-starair officer of theIndian Air Force who served as theChief of the Air Staff.[3] He took over as the 27thChief of Air Staff succeedingAir Chief MarshalRakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria on 30 September 2021.[4] He previously served as the 45thVice Chief of the Air Staff.[5] He earlier served as theAir Officer Commanding-in-ChiefWestern Air Command[6] and as theDeputy Chief of Air Staff.[7]
He was born to Rambhau Ganapat Chaudhari, his mother was a school headmistress. His grandfather was a teacher at the Zila Parishad school at Koli, a village in Hadgaon taluka.[8][9] He studied in primary school atNanded. He subsequently moved toPune and enrolled in a military school. He is an alumnus of theNational Defence Academy (61st Course), theAir Force Academy and theDefence Services Staff College,Wellington (DSSC).[10]
Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari was commissioned in theIndian Air Force as a fighter pilot on 29 December 1982 from theAir Force Academy, Dundigal. During his illustrious career spanning over four decades, he has held various staff and instructional appointments and served in a wide spectrum of terrain. He is a Category 'A'qualified flying instructor, and Instrument Rating Instructor and examiner. He has a flying experience of over 3800 hours on various fighter aircraft includingMiG-21,MiG-23MF,MiG-29 andSu-30MKI. He was also a pioneer member of theSurya Kiran Aerobatic Display Team.[11] As a fighter pilot, he flew operational missions duringOperation Meghdoot andOperation Safed Sagar.[3] He has commanded the MiG-29 squadron,No. 28 Squadron IAF atJamnagar and the forward base inAwantipora inJammu and Kashmir. He also served as the chief operations officer of theSrinagar Air Force Station.[12]
As anAir commodore, he served as the Air assistant to the thenChief of Air Staff,Air Chief MarshalPradeep Vasant Naik. He subsequently commanded theLohegaon Air base inPune. He has also served as an instructor at DSSC Wellington as well as Defence Services Command and Staff College atLusaka,Zambia.[10]
After promotion toAir Vice Marshal, he served as the Assistant Chief of Air Staff Operations (Air Defence) at Air headquarters and as the Deputy Commandant at theAir Force Academy, Dundigal.[7] He subsequently was appointed the Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Personnel Officers). On 2 October 2018 he took over as the Deputy Chief of Air Staff at Air Headquarters, New Delhi.[7] A year later, on 1 October 2019 he was appointed as Senior Air Staff Officer of theEastern Air Command inShillong.[13]
On 1 August 2020, he took over as theAir Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Air Command succeedingAir MarshalBalakrishnan Suresh.[6] A year later, on 1 July 2021 he took over as the 45thVice Chief of the Air Staff succeedingAir MarshalHarjit Singh Arora who superannuated from service on 30 June 2021.[5]
On 21 September 2021, theGovernment of India appointedAir Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari as the nextChief of the Air Staff.[4] On 30 September 2021, he took over as the 27th Chief of the Air Staff succeeding Air Chief MarshalRakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria.[14] He retired on 30 September 2024 after four decades of service and was succeeded by Air MarshalAmar Preet Singh.[15]
During his career, he has been awarded theVayu Sena Medal in 2004, theAti Vishisht Seva Medal in 2015[2] and theParam Vishisht Seva Medal in 2021[16] for his service.
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He is married to Neeta Chaudhari. They have two sons.[7] His son Mihir Chaudhary is also an officer in Indian Air Force.[17]
| Insignia | Rank | Component | Date of rank |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Pilot Officer | Indian Air Force | 29 December 1982 |
 | Flying Officer | Indian Air Force | 29 December 1983[18] |
 | Flight Lieutenant | Indian Air Force | 21 December 1987[18] |
 | Squadron Leader | Indian Air Force | 29 December 1993[18] |
 | Wing Commander | Indian Air Force | 17 May 1999[18] |
 | Group Captain | Indian Air Force | 1 March 2006[18] |
 | Air Commodore | Indian Air Force | 1 September 2009[18] |
 | Air Vice Marshal | Indian Air Force | 1 April 2013[18] |
 | Air Marshal | Indian Air Force | 1 October 2018 (AOC-in-C from 1 August 2020)[18] |
| Air Chief Marshal (CAS) | Indian Air Force | 30 September 2021[19] |
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Chief of Air Staff 30 September 2021 - 30 September 2024 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Vice Chief of Air Staff 1 July 2021 – 30 September 2021 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief,Western Air Command 1 August 2020 – 30 June 2021 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Senior Air Staff OfficerEastern Air Command 1 October 2019 – 31 July 2020 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Deputy Chief of the Air Staff 1 October 2018 – 30 September 2019 | Succeeded by |