Air Marshal RKS Bhadauria will take over as next Indian Air Force chief after Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa retires on September 30. He led the complex negotiations for the Rs 59,000-crore Rafale deal for 36 fighter jets and was closely associated with the light combat aircraft programme.
Five things about the new IAF chief:
* Had he not been appointed IAF chief, Bhadauria would have retired the same day as Dhanoa. It is rare though not unprecedented for top officers to be promoted as service chiefs with effect from the day of their retirement and making top appointments is the government’s prerogative. Air Chief Marshal NC Suri was also appointed the IAF chief in 1991 from the day of his retirement.
* He led the complex negotiations for the Rs 59,000-crore Rafale deal for 36 fighters. France will hand over the Indian Air Force its first Rafale fighter jet on October 8.
* Bhadauria will take charge of the IAF at a time when the service is grappling with a spending crunch that could hit its modernisation efforts. The IAF has sought an additional Rs 40,000 crore from the government to buy new equipment and also pay for weapons and systems it has already contracted to purchase.
* An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Bhadauria won the coveted Sword of Honour for standing first in the overall order of merit. Over his 39-year military service, he has clocked 4,250 flying hours on 26 types of fighters and transport aircraft.
* His previous appointments include command of a Jaguar squadron, a premier IAF base. He was the project director of the National Flight Test Centre, the directorate of the Aeronautical Development Agency, dealing with the flight testing of the LCA. He was extensively involved in the initial prototype flight tests on the LCA. He has also served as the air defence attaché in Russia. He has also served as the assistant chief of the air staff (projects), IAF’s deputy chief and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Southern Air Command and also the Training Command.
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