Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria (born 15 September 1959), is a retired
Indian Air Force officer, who served as the
Chief of the Air Staff of the
Indian Air Force, having assumed office on 30 September 2019 after the retirement of
Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa
Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, VM, ADC is an Indian air force officer who was the 22nd Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force and served from 31 December 2016 to 30 September 2019. Dhanoa also served as the ...
.
He retired on 30 September 2021 and was succeeded by
Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari
Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari, is an air officer of the Indian Air Force. He currently serves as the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS). He took over as the 27th CAS succeeding Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria on 30 September 2 ...
.
Early life and education
Bhadauria is from Korath, a village of tahsil Bah District
Agra
Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra i ...
. He is born in a Rajput family. His father, Suraj Pal Singh Bhadauria, too served in the
Indian Air Force as a Junior Commissioned Officer and retired with the rank of Master Warrant Officer. Bhadauria is an alumnus of
Defence Services Command and Staff College
The Defence Services Command and Staff College (DSCSC) is situated at Batalanda, Makola (South) 12 Kilometers away from Colombo and its aim to develop the professional knowledge and understanding of experienced officers of the Sri Lanka Army, Sri ...
Bangladesh,
National Defence Academy
The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces, where cadets of the three services i.e. the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force train together before they go on ...
,
Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...
and holds a Masters in Defence studies from Command and Staff College.
Career
Bhadauria was commissioned into the fighter stream of the
Indian Air Force on 15 June 1980 with the Sword of Honour. He has clocked over 4,250 hours of flying and has experience on 26 different types of fighter jets and transport aircraft. He held several key operational and administrative appointments at various stages of his service including Commander of a Jaguar Squadron at a front line base in South-Western sector; Commanding Officer of Flight Test Squadron at Aircraft and System Testing Establishment; Chief Test Pilot and Project Director of National Flight Test Centre on the Tejas LCA project; Air Attache in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
; Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Projects); Commandant of the National Defence Academy; Senior Air Staff Officer at Central Air Command and Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (1 January 2016 - 28 February 2017). He is also an experimental Test Pilot, a Category A qualified Flying Instructor and a Pilot Attack Instructor.
Bhadauria served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C),
Southern Air Command from 1 March 2017, succeeding
Air Marshal Sunderraman Neelakantan, to 1 August 2018.
He also served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C),
Training Command from 1 August 2018 after retirement of Air Marshal
S R K Nair
Air Marshal Sreedhara Panicker Radha Krishnan Nair (born 7 July 1958), Param Vishisht Seva Medal, PVSM, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, AVSM, Vayu Sena Medal, VM, Mentioned in dispatches, Mention in Dispatches is a retired officer of Indian Air Force wh ...
, and held the office till his elevation to the Vice Chief of the Air Staff.
He took office of
Vice Chief of the Air Staff on 1 May 2019 after the retirement of Air Marshal
Anil Khosla.
On 19 September 2019 he was appointed as the
Chief of Air Staff.
He retired on 30 September 2021.
Personal life
He is married to Asha Bhadauria and they have two children namely Sonali Singh and Sourabh Bhadauria.
His Father is Mr. Suraj Pal Singh Bhadauria, who is also from IAF, and a VSM holder. Hs mother's name is Mrs. Vidhya Vati.
Awards and decorations
During 41 years of his career, Bhadauria has been awarded several medals: the
Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (January 2013), the
Vayu Sena Medal
The Vayu Sena Medal is a military decoration, usually awarded in peacetime for a job well done in the Indian Air Force. However, it has been granted during times of conflict for acts of gallantry in the face of enemy, though not in the same nu ...
(January 2002).
and the
Param Vishisht Seva Medal
Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (IAST: ) is a military award of India. It was constituted in 1960 and since then it is awarded in recognition to peace-time service of the most exceptional order and may be awarded posthumously. All ranks of the ...
(January 2018).
He was appointed as the honorary air force
ADC
ADC may refer to:
Science and medicine
* ADC (gene), a human gene
* AIDS dementia complex, neurological disorder associated with HIV and AIDS
* Allyl diglycol carbonate or CR-39, a polymer
* Antibody-drug conjugate, a type of anticancer treatm ...
to the
President of India
The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Mur ...
on 1 January 2019.
He was inducted into Mirpur Hall of Fame at
Defence Services Command and Staff College
The Defence Services Command and Staff College (DSCSC) is situated at Batalanda, Makola (South) 12 Kilometers away from Colombo and its aim to develop the professional knowledge and understanding of experienced officers of the Sri Lanka Army, Sri ...
, Bangladesh.
Dates of rank
References
Notes
Citations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhadauria, Rakesh Kumar Singh
Living people
Chiefs of Air Staff (India)
Vice Chiefs of Air Staff (India)
Commandants of the National Defence Academy
Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal
Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal
Recipients of the Vayu Sena Medal
National Defence Academy (India) alumni
1959 births
Indian air attachés
pa:ਰਾਕੇਸ਼ ਕੁਮਾਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਭਦੌਰਿਆ