Air Chief Marshal
Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria
PVSM AVSM VM ADC
23rd Chief of the Air Staff
In office
30 September 2019 – 30 September 2021
PresidentRam Nath Kovind
Prime MinisterNarendra Modi
Preceded byBirender Singh Dhanoa
Succeeded byVivek Ram Chaudhari
43rd Vice Chief of the Air Staff
In office
1 May 2019 – 30 September 2019
Preceded byAnil Khosla
Succeeded byHarjit Singh Arora
Personal details
Born (1959-09-15) 15 September 1959
Korath, Agra, Uttar Pradesh
SpouseAsha Bhadauria
Military service
Allegiance India
Branch/service Indian Air Force
Years of service15 June 1980 - 30 September 2021
Rank Air Chief Marshal
UnitNo. 23 Squadron
CommandsChief of the Air Staff
Vice Chief of the Air Staff
Training Command
Southern Air Command
Deputy Chief of the Air Staff
Service number16026[1]
Awards Param Vishisht Seva Medal
Ati Vishisht Seva Medal
Vayu Sena Medal

Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria PVSM AVSM VM ADC (born 15 September 1959), is a retired Indian Air Force officer, who served as the Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force, having assumed office on 30 September 2019 after the retirement of Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa.[2][3] He retired on 30 September 2021 and was succeeded by Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari.[4]

Early life and education

Bhadauria is from Korath, a village of tahsil Bah District Agra. He is born in a Rajput family.[5][6] His father, Suraj Pal Singh Bhadauria, too served in the Indian Air Force as a Junior Commissioned Officer and retired with the rank of Master Warrant Officer.[7] Bhadauria is an alumnus of Defence Services Command and Staff College Bangladesh, National Defence Academy, Pune and holds a Masters in Defence studies from Command and Staff College.[8][9]

Career

Bhadauria was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on 15 June 1980 with the Sword of Honour. He has clocked over 4,250 hours of flying and has experience on 26 different types of fighter jets and transport aircraft. He held several key operational and administrative appointments at various stages of his service including Commander of a Jaguar Squadron at a front line base in South-Western sector; Commanding Officer of Flight Test Squadron at Aircraft and System Testing Establishment; Chief Test Pilot and Project Director of National Flight Test Centre on the Tejas LCA project; Air Attache in Moscow; Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Projects); Commandant of the National Defence Academy; Senior Air Staff Officer at Central Air Command and Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (1 January 2016 - 28 February 2017). He is also an experimental Test Pilot, a Category A qualified Flying Instructor and a Pilot Attack Instructor.[10][11][12]

Bhadauria served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C), Southern Air Command from 1 March 2017, succeeding Air Marshal Sunderraman Neelakantan, to 1 August 2018.[10][8][13][14]

He also served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C), Training Command from 1 August 2018 after retirement of Air Marshal S R K Nair, and held the office till his elevation to the Vice Chief of the Air Staff.[15][16]

He took office of Vice Chief of the Air Staff on 1 May 2019 after the retirement of Air Marshal Anil Khosla.[17][18]

On 19 September 2019 he was appointed as the Chief of Air Staff.[19] He retired on 30 September 2021.[20]

Personal life

His Father is Mr. Suraj Pal Singh Bhadauria, who is also from IAF, and a VSM holder.[8]

Awards and decorations

During 41 years of his career, Bhadauria has been awarded several medals: the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (January 2013), the Vayu Sena Medal (January 2002).[10][1] and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (January 2018).[21] He was appointed as the honorary air force ADC to the President of India on 1 January 2019.[3] He was inducted into Mirpur Hall of Fame at Defence Services Command and Staff College, Bangladesh.[9]

Param Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal
Vayu Sena Medal Samanya Seva Medal Siachen Glacier Medal Operation Parakram Medal
Operation Vijay Medal Sainya Seva Medal High Altitude Service Medal Videsh Seva Medal
50th Anniversary of Independence Medal 30 Years Long Service Medal 20 Years Long Service Medal 9 Years Long Service Medal

Dates of rank

InsigniaRankComponentDate of rank
Pilot OfficerIndian Air Force15 June 1980[22]
Flying OfficerIndian Air Force15 June 1981[23]
Flight LieutenantIndian Air Force15 June 1985[24]
Squadron LeaderIndian Air Force15 June 1991[25]
Wing CommanderIndian Air Force5 May 1997[26]
Group CaptainIndian Air Force1 May 2003[27]
Air CommodoreIndian Air Force1 January 2008[28]
Air Vice MarshalIndian Air Force29 April 2011 (seniority from 1 January)[29]
Air MarshalIndian Air Force1 August 2014[30]
Air Chief Marshal
(CAS)		Indian Air Force30 September 2019


References

Notes

    Citations

    1. 1 2 "President Confers Gallantry and Distinguished Service Awards". 27 April 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
    2. ↑ @IAF_MCC (30 September 2019). "Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria, took over as 26th Chief of the Indian Air Force today. He was commissioned into the fighter stream of IAF in Jun 1980" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
    3. 1 2 "Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria takes over as the 26th Chief of the Air Staff" (Press release). Press Information Bureau. 30 September 2019.
    4. ↑ Quint, The (21 September 2021). "Air Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari To Be Next Chief of Air Staff". TheQuint. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
    5. ↑ "उड़ते जहाज ने पैदा की फाइटर पायलट बनने की ललक, आज पाया ये मुकाम, जानिए सफलता की अनसुनी कहानी".
    6. ↑ "SP's Aviation - May 2019 Digital Magazine from Magzter - World's Largest Digital Newsstand". Magzter. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
    7. ↑ Chauhan, Arvind. "Air Marshal's ancestral village celebrates his appointment as IAF Chief". THE TIMES OF INDIA. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
    8. 1 2 3 "New Southern Air Command chief takes charge". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
    9. 1 2 "IAF Chief inducted into 'Mirpur Hall of Fame' at defence college in Bangladesh". Business World. 25 February 2021.
    10. 1 2 3 "Dy Chief of IAF Bhadauria new AOC-in-Chief of Southern Command | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis". dna. 27 February 2017. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
    11. ↑ "Air Marshal R K Singh Bhadauria takes over as Deputy Chief of Air Staff". The Economic Times. 2016. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
    12. ↑ "Press Information Bureau". Retrieved 12 October 2017.
    13. ↑ "SOUTHERN AIR COMMAND". indianairforce.nic.in. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
    14. ↑ Staff Reporter (9 October 2017). "Shower of warmth at Kovind's maiden visit". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
    15. ↑ "New chief of IAF Training Command". The Hindu. 3 August 2018.
    16. ↑ "IAF training chief SRK Nair retires". The Times of India. 31 July 2018.
    17. ↑ @IAF_MCC (1 May 2019). "Air Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria took over as Vice Chief of the Air Staff today. He took over from Air Marshal Anil Khosla, who superannuated on 30 Apr 19 after 39 years of glorious service" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
    18. ↑ "Air Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria PVSM AVSM VM ADC Takes Over as Vice Chief of the Air Staff" (Press release). Press Information Bureau. 1 May 2019.
    19. ↑ "Air Marshal RKS Bhadauria appointed as new Indian Air Force chief". India Today. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
    20. ↑ "In Indian Air Force's Tribute To Outgoing Chief, A Tale Of 2 Sorties". NDTV.com. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
    21. ↑ "390 Republic Day Gallantry and Other Defence Decorations Announced".
    22. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Air Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 23 May 1981. p. 721.
    23. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Air Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 20 March 1982. p. 402.
    24. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Air Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 2 November 1985. p. 1526.
    25. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Air Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 11 April 1992. p. 681.
    26. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Air Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 15 June 2002. p. 923.
    27. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Air Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 29 January 2005. p. 246.
    28. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Air Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 26 July 2008. p. 1033.
    29. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Air Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 22 October 2011. p. 1986.
    30. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Air Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 2 May 2015. p. 1132.
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