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Ace fighter pilot Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor will take over as the new Vice Chief of Air Staff on January 1. He is presently the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Gandhinagar-based South Western Air Command.
He was awarded the Sarvottam Yudha Sewa Medal for his role in Operation Sindoor earlier this year. He commanded the SWAC at the time when the Indian Air Force launched multiple attacks on Pakistani air bases in the operations between May 6 and 10, causing heavy damage to them. Air Marshal Kapoor was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on 06 December 1986. He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Defence Services Staff College and National Defence College. A Qualified Flying Instructor and a Fighter Combat Leader, he has more than 3400 hours of flying experience. During his illustrious career, the Air Marshal has held numerous field and staff appointments. His operational tenures include being the Commanding Officer of a fighter squadron in the Central Sector, Station Commander of a flying base in the Western Sector and Air Officer Commanding of a premier air base. He has done instructional tenures as Chief Instructor (Flying) at Air Force Academy and as Directing Staff at the prestigious Defence Services Staff College, Wellington. During his tenure at the Air Force Academy, the Air Officer was instrumental in the induction and operationalisation of PC-7 MK II aircraft in the IAF. He has also undertaken a diplomatic assignment as the Defence Attache in Pakistan. His staff appointments include Assistant Chief of Air Staff Operations (Strategy) at Air HQ, Air Defence Commander at South Western Air Command and Senior Air Staff Officer at HQ Central Air Command. Before taking over as AIC-in-C Training Command, he also served as the Air Officer-in-Charge, Personnel, at Air Headquarters in New Delhi. (ANI)
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