Air Marshal P.R. Sharma took over as the Air Officer-in-charge Personnel (AOP) while Air Marshal P.P. Reddy took charge as the Director General (Inspection and Safety) at Air Headquarters here on Tuesday.
Previously commanding the Dundigal-based Air Force Academy, Air Marshal Sharma was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force in 1974. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, the Defence Service Staff College, Wellington, and the Royal College of Defence Studies, London, he is a qualified flying instructor and a test pilot with over 3,000 hours of flying. He has commanded a fighter air base, the Aircraft and System Testing Establishment (ASTE) in Bangalore, besides holding various staff appointments at Air HQ, Strategic Forces Command and Integrated Defence Staff.
Air Marshal Reddy was commissioned as a fighter pilot in 1977. He is an alumnus of the Rashtriya Indian Military College, the National Defence Academy, and the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington. He has flown over 3,600 hours on various types of fighter as well as transport aircraft, including SU-30 MKI. Air Marshal Reddy has held various command and staff appointments, including Chief Test Pilot at ASTE, and Air Adviser at High Commission of India, London. Air Marshal Reddy is also a recipient of the Presidential award — the ‘Vayusena Medal.’
