Air chief marshal is a four-star

air officer An air officer is an air force officer of the rank of air commodore or higher. Such officers may be termed "officers of air rank". While the term originated in the Royal Air Force, air officers are also to be found in many Commonwealth nations ...

rank in the Indian Air Force. It is the highest active rank in the Indian Air Force. Air chief marshal ranks above the

three-star rank An officer of three-star rank is a senior commander in many of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-8. The term is also used by some armed forces which are not NATO members. Typically, three-star officers hold the ...

of air marshal and below the

five-star rank A five-star rank is the highest military rank in many countries.Oxford English Dictionary (OED), 2nd Edition, 1989. "five" ... "five-star adj., ... (b) U.S., applied to a general or admiral whose badge of rank includes five stars;" The rank is t ...

of Marshal of the Indian Air Force, which is largely a war-time or ceremonial rank. The rank is held by the Chief of the Air Staff, the professional head of the Indian Air Force. The rank may also be held by the Chief of Defence Staff when the holder is a serving Indian Air Force officer.

Rank holders

The current and only air chief marshal in the

Indian Armed Forces The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Armed Forces are supported by th ...

is the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS). The equivalent rank in the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

and in the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates si ...

is admiral. Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari PVSM AVSM VM ADC

History

The Indian Air Force inherited the rank of air chief marshal from the RAF. While the RAF

air officers An air officer is an air force officer of the rank of air commodore or higher. Such officers may be termed "officers of air rank". While the term originated in the Royal Air Force, air officers are also to be found in many Commonwealth nations ...

in command of

RAF India RAF India, later called Air Forces in India (1938–47) was a command of the Royal Air Force (RAF) that was active from 1918 until Indian independence and partition in 1947. It was the air force counterpart of the British Army in India. Origi ...

were normally of a lower rank, Sir Edgar Ludlow-Hewitt was promoted to the rank in 1937, towards the end of his tenure as Air Officer Commanding RAF India. Additionally, at the height of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Sir Richard Peirse, the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of RAF India was also promoted to the rank. After India gained independence, the Royal Indian Air Force and then Indian Air Force, continued to use the rank on paper. The rank of the Chief of the Air Staff was upgraded from air marshal to Air Chief Marshal in 1966. The first IAF officer to hold this rank was Air Chief Marshal

Arjan Singh Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh, DFC (15 April 1919 – 16 September 2017) was a senior air officer of the Indian Air Force. He served as the 3rd Chief of the Air Staff from 1964 to 1969, leading the Air Force through the Indo- ...

(later promoted to the

of marshal of the Indian Air Force) who was promoted to the rank in 1966 while he served as the Chief of the Air Staff. Post 1966, all the air chiefs have held the rank.

Insignia

The flag of an Air chief marshal is sky blue with the national flag in the canton, the roundel in lower fly, and the Indian Air Force badge in upper fly. The badges of rank consist of three sky blue bands (each on a slightly wider navy blue band) over a sky blue band on a navy blue broad band. An air chief marshal wears gorget patches which are blue patches with four white stars and additional oak leaves under them. In addition to this, the blue grey terrywool tunic has four sleeve stripes consisting of a broad band with three narrower bands.

Appointment and term length

Appointments to the office of Chief of the Air Staff are made by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, which is chaired by the Prime Minister of India. The term length of the Chief of the Air Staff is three years or until the age of 62 of the holder, whichever is earlier.

Order of precedence

An air chief marshal ranks at number 12 on the

Indian order of precedence The order of precedence of the Republic of India is a list in which the functionaries, dignitaries and officials are listed for ceremonial purposes and has no legal standing and does not reflect the Indian presidential line of succession or the c ...

, along with the CDS and the chiefs of staff of the

and

(the COAS and the CNS). An air chief marshal is at pay level 18, equivalent to

Cabinet Secretary of India The Cabinet Secretary is the top-most executive official and senior-most civil servant of the Government of India. The Cabinet Secretary is the ''ex-officio'' head of the Civil Services Board, the Cabinet Secretariat, the Indian Administrativ ...

(at number 11 on the warrant of precedence), with a monthly pay of ₹250,000 (US$3,500).

References