Amar Preet Singh
Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, is a serving four star air officer of the Indian Air Force. He is the current and 28th Chief of the Air Staff. 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.
Operation Sindoor (2025)
He led the Indian Air Force in India's military operation against Pakistan in retaliation to 2025 Pahalgam attack on May 2025 codenamed Operation Sindoor in which around 140 terrorists were killed due to precision missile strikes and artillery strikes at 9 different sites by Indian Air Force and Indian Army. JeM chief Masood Azhar's 10 family members and 4 aides were also killed due to Indian Air Force missile strikes at Bahawalpur. In the midnight hours of 9th-10th May and the daytime of 10th May until ceasefire, the Indian Air Force carried out atleast 12 precision airstrikes at Pakistani military installations which includes airbases, command and control centres, radar installations, military cantt damaging them heavily which was confirmed by satallite imagery. During the conflict around 6 PAF jets of JF-17/F-16 class was also shot down by IAF S-400 air defence system which also includes the longest surface to air kill of PAF Saab Eriye 200 AWE&C aircraft which was taken out at 300 km. Many PAF jets including JF-17, F-16, AWE&C, C-130, refueling planes, UAV's were destroyed or damaged due to Indian airstrikes and drone strikes on airbases, command and control centres, UAV storage centres. Tommy Tamtomo who is the vice chairman of the Indonesian Center of Air Power Studies said that atleast 9 PAF jets were shot down or destroyed in the conflict. However according to top aerial warfare analyst Tom Cooper the PAF lost around 19 jets in the conflict. The IAF strikes on Pakistani Airbases destroyed around 20% of PAF assets with 50+ PAF personnel including Squadron Leaders, Chief Technician were killed in PAF Base Bholari. The accurate precision strikes and heavy losses on its military bases made Pakistan to ask for ceasefire to Indian DGMO Rajiv Ghai on 10th May 2025 around 3:35 PM. Former US Pentagon official Michael Rubin criticized Pakistan for its terror sponsorship and further said about diplomatic and military success of India in the conflict. Indian Air Defence system earned global praise in the conflict too.The New York Times, The Washington Post, Stimson Center through its independent satallite image analysis of both the sides concluded that India suffered no visible damage in its military installations despite the fact that India officially said that 4 of its airbases suffered minor equipment and personnel damages. The American Enterprise Institute also praised India's air defence system effectivity and performance in the conflict. International analysts and leaders hailed India's Operation Sindoor as a huge success against state sponsored terrorism and military victory over Pakistan in the 4 day conflict with Indian Air Force played a huge role in it under his leadership. His leadership skills in Operation Sindoor was praised both domestically and globally. The Small Wars Journal praised India's home made indigenous weapons performance and capabilities during the 4 day armed conflict.Early life and education
He 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.