New Delhi: Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh on Monday took over as the new Air Force Chief, with over 5,000 hours of flying experience. He took over from Air Chief Marshal VR Choudhary, who retired after a three-year tenure as the chief.

Born on 27 October 1964, Air Chief Marshal Singh was commissioned into the fighter pilot stream of the Indian Air Force in December 1984. In his long career spanning nearly 40 years, he has held many important responsibilities. Air Chief Marshal Singh has commanded operational fighter squadrons and frontline air bases.

The task of flight testing of Tejas was assigned to

As a test pilot he headed the MiG-29 upgrade project management team in Moscow. He was also the Project Director at the National Flight Test Centre and was entrusted with the flight testing of the Tejas. He held important staff appointments of Air Defence Commander at South Western Air Command and Senior Air Staff Officer at Eastern Air Command.

Awarded with the Param Vishisht Seva Medal

Before taking over as the Vice Chief of the Air Force in February last year, he was the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Central Air Command. Singh has been awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal. Singh is known to be a fitness enthusiast who also plays squash.