# Amar Preet Singh

Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, PVSM, AVSM is a serving four star air officer of the Indian Air Force. He is the current and 28th Chief of the Air Staff (CAS). He took over as the 28th CAS, succeeding Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari, on 30 September 2024. He was previously serving as the 47th Vice Chief of the Air Staff. He was previously serving as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Central Air Command, prior to that he served as the Senior Air Staff Officer at the Eastern Air Command.

## Early life and education

Amar Preet Singh is an alumnus of S.B.M. School, Delhi and later the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and the Air Force Academy, Dundigal. He is also an alumnus of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and National Defence College, New Delhi.

## Military Career

Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on 21 December 1984 from the Air Force Academy, Dundigal. In a distinguished career spanning across 38 years, he has tenanted various staff and instructional appointments. He has flown a variety of fighter and trainer aircraft with more than 5000 hours of operational flying. He is a Qualified Flying Instructor and an experimental test pilot with service flying on a variety of fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft. As Wing Commander, he commanded the No. 22 squadron, then made up of the MiG-27 fighter aircraft. He spearheaded the MiG-29 Upgrade Project Management Team at Moscow, Russia and was instrumental in flight testing of the HAL Tejas. He served as the Chief Test Pilot at Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment.
After being promoted to the rank of Air Vice Marshal, he served as the Project Director at National Flight Test Center, Aeronautical Development Agency and as the Air Officer Commanding of 2 Air Defence Control Centre at Gandhinagar.
After being promoted to the rank of Air Marshal, he was appointed as the Senior Air Staff Officer of the Eastern Air Command at Shillong. A year later, on 1 July 2022, he took over as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Central Air Command succeeding Air Marshal Richard John Duckworth who superannuated from service on 30 June 2022.
On 1 February 2023, Air Marshal Amar Preet Singh took over as the 47th Vice Chief of the Air Staff succeeding Air Marshal Sandeep Singh when the latter superannuated from service on 31 January 2023. As VCAS, he was at the forefront of the largest ever multinational Air Exercise Tarang Shakti held in India that was concluded in September 2024. In a significant message on the importance and the efficiency of India’s indigenous Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, he flew extensively during the drill including a sortie with VCOAS Lieutenant General N. S. Raja Subramani and VCNS Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan.

### Chief of the Air Staff

On 21 September 2024, the Government of India appointed Air Marshal Amar Preet Singh as the next Chief of the Air Staff. On 30 September 2024, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh took over as the 28th Chief of the Air Staff succeeding Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari who superannuated after more than four decades of service. In February 2025, during Aero India 2025, Singh criticized Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for delays in delivering of the Tejas fighter aircraft. He has also supported the procurement of indigenously designed defence systems over imports from international companies.

## Personal life

Air Marshal Singh is a keen squash player. He is married to Mrs Sarita Singh. The couple is blessed with a son and a daughter.

## Awards and decorations

During his career, he has been awarded with the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2019 and Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2023.
| | Param Vishisht Seva Medal | Ati Vishisht Seva Medal | |
| Samanya Seva Medal | Special Service Medal | Operation Vijay Medal | Operation Parakram Medal |
| Sainya Seva Medal | High Altitude Medal | Videsh Seva Medal | 75th Independence Anniversary Medal |
| 50th Independence Anniversary Medal | 30 Years Long Service Medal | 20 Years Long Service Medal | 9 Years Long Service Medal |

## Dates of rank

| Rank | Component | Date of rank |
| Pilot Officer | Indian Air Force | 21 December 1984 |
| Flying Officer | Indian Air Force | 21 December 1985 |
| Flight Lieutenant | Indian Air Force | 21 December 1989 |
| Squadron Leader | Indian Air Force | 21 December 1995 |
| Wing Commander | Indian Air Force | 14 May 2001 |
| Group Captain | Indian Air Force | 05 Nov 2007 |
| Air Commodore | Indian Air Force | 30 Dec 2010 |
| Air Vice Marshal | Indian Air Force | 01 Aug 2016 |
| Air Marshal | Indian Air Force | 1 February 2021 (AOC-in-C from 1 July 2022) |
| Air Chief Marshal (CAS) | Indian Air Force | 30 September 2024 |