The Government has appointed Vice Chief of the Indian Air Force (IAF) Air Marshal RKS Bhadauria as the next Chief of Air Staff (CAS). He will take over on September 30 and will have a two-year tenure. He had played a key role in the negotiations for the deal with France for 36 Rafale jets.
Air Marshal RKS Bhadauria was commissioned into the fighter stream of the IAF in June 1980, and has held various Command, Staff and Instructional appointments at various levels including the present one as Vice Chief of Air Staff, Defence Ministry said in a statement.
He has over 4,250 hours of experience on 26 types of fighters and transport aircraft with the unique distinction of being an Experimental Test Pilot, a Cat ‘A’ Qualified Flying Instructor and a Pilot Attack Instructor.
Present IAF Chief and Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa is set to retire on September 30. The baton of Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee will pass on to Army Chief General Bipin Rawat who would then be the senior-most Service Chief.
As Deputy Chief of the IAF, Air Marshal Bhadauria played a key role during the contract negotiations for 36 Rafale jets. Due to his role in the negotiations, the first Rafale built by Dassault Aviation for the IAF, a two-seater variant, which made its maiden flight on October 30 in France is designated with his name as RB-008. The RB-008 is an instrumented aircraft and will be used to incorporate, test and validate the 13 India Specific Modifications (ISE). It will also be the 36th aircraft to be delivered to the IAF in 2022, 67 months after the contract was signed.
He also served as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Southern Air Command and, prior to the present appointment, he was the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Training Command.
