The Ministry of Defence on Thursday announced Air Marshal RKS Bhadauria as next Chief of Air Staff. Bhadauria at present holds the designation of Air Vice Chief, and will be taking over Air Marshal BS Dhanoa, who retires on September 30.
According to the reports, RKS Bhadauria was also due to retire on the same day as BS Dhanoa. But now that he has been appointed as the chief of Air staff, he will serve a three-year term or till the age of 62, whichever is sooner. In this case, his term will be two years.
Bhadauria, who hold the experience of 26 different types of fighters, was commissioned into the Fighter Stream of Indian Air Force in June 1980. An alumnus of National Defence Academy, Pune, Bhadauria has held various Command, Staff and Instructional Appointments at various levels including the present one as Vice Chief of Air Staff. He hold the record of clocking over 4250 hours of flying.
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Within his career spanning over 36 years, RKS Bhadauria has been awarded several medals including the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, the Vayu Sena Medal and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal. He was appointed honorary Aide De Campe to the President of India in January this year.
