Air Marshal Jonnalagedda Chalapati, AVSM, VSM is a retired officer of the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

. Currently, he served as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C), Southern Air Command. He took over the office on 3 October 2021, succeeding of Air Marshal Manavendra Singh and superannuated on 31 March, 2023.

Early life and education

He graduated from the Hyderabad Public School in 1980. He is an alumnus of National Defence Academy Khadagwasla and Air Force Academy Hyderabad. He has completed his National Defence Course from

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

and Masters Degree in Military Studies from

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

Career

Jonnalagedda Chalapati was commissioned as a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force on December 22, 1983. He has flying experience on various aircraft including

HAL Tejas The HAL Tejas is an Indian, single engine, delta wing, light multirole fighter designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) in collaboration with Aircraft Research and Design Centre (ARDC) of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for t ...

. Chalapati is a Qualified Flying Instructor and an Experimental Test Pilot and has about 3311 hrs of operational flight experience. He had served as a test pilot at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited working with DRDO on various projects. He has held various appointments including Command of an Operational Squadron, commanded the AFS Bagdogra. Served as the Project Director (Flight Test) at National Flight Test Center, Aeronautical Development Agency. He was the Commandant at Air Force Academy,

Dundigal Dundigal, officially Dundigal Gandimaisamma, is a city and a municipality in Medchal-Malkajgiri district in the Indian state of Telangana. It is the mandal headquarters of Dundigal mandal in Malkajgiri revenue division of Medchal-Malkajgiri dis ...

. Previous to his present assignment, he had served as Senior Air Staff Officer for the Southern Air Command from 1 August 2020 to 2 October 2021.

Awardsand decorations

Chalapati has been awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) in 2012 and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2022.

Personal life

Jonnalagedda Chalapati is married to Mrs Smitha Gayatri who is President of Air Force Wives Welfare Association (Regional). The couple is blessed with two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chalapati, Jonnalagedda Indian Air Force air marshals Recipients of the Vishisht Seva Medal Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Telugu people People from Andhra Pradesh Commandants of the Indian Air Force Academy Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Air Force Academy (India) alumni