Air Marshal HS Arora appointed as Vice Chief of Indian Air Force

Air Marshal Harjit Singh Arora has been appointed as the new Vice Chief of Indian Air Force (IAF). He will be succeeding Air Marshal RKS Bhadauria who will take over as Chief of Air Staff on September 30 after the retirement his predecessor and the incumbent Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief ACM BS Dhanoa.

Air Marshal HS Arora currently heads the Gandhinagar headquartered South Western Air Command of Indian Air Force. Therefore, meanwhile, Air Marshal B Suresh has been appointed as Western Air Commander of Air Force.

About Air Marshal HS Arora

He was commissioned in IAF as a fighter pilot in December 1981.

He has diverse experience of accident-free operational flying including MiG 21, MiG 29 and other aircraft in IAF inventory and also helicopters.

Career: From 2006 to 2009, he was deputed as Defence Attache at Embassy of India, Bangkok, Thailand. As a Wing Commander he commanded 45 Squadron and was later the Commander of an Air Defence Direction Centre (ADDC) in Western Sector. He is a graduate of Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) and National Defence College (NDC) and is Master of Philosophy in Defence and Strategic Studies.

Honour: In recognition of his distinguished service, he was commended by Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief in 1997. He was also awarded Ati Vishist Seva Medal on 26 Jan 2011 by President of India.

Month: Current Affairs - September, 2019