Josefa1802: added formatting additionally and corrected details per standard format

2026-01-18T09:02:09Z

added formatting additionally and corrected details per standard format

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{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox official post
| post = Commandant
| body = the<br>[[Air Force Academy (India)|Air Force Academy]]
| native_name =
| flag =
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| image = File:Air_Marshal_B_Chandra_Sekhar,_AVSM_(cropped).jpg
| imagesize = 150px
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| incumbent = [[Air marshal (India)|Air Marshal]]<br/> [[B Chandra Sekhar]]
| incumbentsince = March 2022
| type =
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| reports_to = [[Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief]], [[Training Command (India)|Training Command]]
| residence =
| seat = [[Dundigal]], [[Hyderabad]], [[Telangana]], [[India]]
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| website = {{url|https://indianairforce.nic.in/air-force-academy/}}
}}
The '''Commandant of the Air Force Academy''' is the head and in-charge of all the functioning of the [[Air Force Academy (India)|Air Force Academy]] in India. The Commandant of the Academy is a [[Three-star rank]] officer holding the rank of [[Air marshal (India)|Air marshal]]. He is supported by the Deputy Commandant, a [[Two-star rank|Two star]] appointment, the Chief Instructor (Flying) ([[Air commodore (India)|Air Commodore]] rank officer) and the Chief Ground Instructor ([[Air commodore (India)|Air Commodore]] rank officer). The current Commandant is [[Air marshal (India)|Air Marshal]] [[B Chandra Sekhar]].

==History==
The foundation stone of the Air Force Academy was laid by the then [[President of India]] [[Dr. Zakir Hussain]] on 11 October 1967. The academy was established in 1969 and started operations in 1971. The vision was to concentrate most of the ab-initio officer training of the Indian Air Force under one roof. [[Air commodore (India)|Air Commodore]] J. D. Aquino, the commandant of the Air Force Flying College Jodhpur, was the first Commandant of the academy.<ref name="IAF website">{{cite web |title=Air Force Academy |url=https://indianairforce.nic.in/air-force-academy/ |website=Indian Air Force: Touch The Sky With Glory |access-date=8 April 2022}}</ref>

The appointment was held by an Air commodore till 1976, when it was upgraded to [[two-star rank]]. It was further upgraded to [[three-star rank]] in 2011.

==List of Commandants==
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|- style="background:#cccccc"
! scope="col" style="width: 20px;" | S.No
! scope="col" style="width: 450px;" | Name
! scope="col" style="width: 160px;" | Appointment Date
! scope="col" style="width: 160px;" | Left Office
! scope="col" style="width: 700px;" | Notes
|-
| 1|| [[Air commodore (India)|Air commodore]] J. D. Aquino, {{small|{{postnominals|country=IND|sep=,|AVSM}}}}|| 8 March 1970|| 28 June 1972|| First commandant.<ref name="IAF website" />
|-
| 2|| [[Air commodore (India)|Air commodore]] [[Lakshman Madhav Katre]], {{small|{{postnominals|country=IND|sep=,|AVSM}}}}|| 16 November 1972|| 26 December 1975|| Later [[Chief of the Air Staff (India)|Chief of the Air Staff]].
|-
| 3|| [[Air vice marshal (India)|Air Vice Marshal]] H. R. Chitnis, {{small|{{postnominals|country=IND|sep=,|AVSM|VM}}}}|| 5 January 1976 {{refn|Appointed as an [[Air commodore (India)|Air Commodore]], promoted to the rank of air vice marshal on 1 April 1976.|group= n}}|| 2 May 1977|| Later [[Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Training Command]] and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief [[Maintenance Command]].
|-
| 4|| [[Air vice marshal (India)|Air Vice Marshal]] [[Trilochan Singh Brar]], {{small|{{postnominals|country=IND|sep=,|AVSM}}}}|| 3 May 1977 || 14 August 1978|| Later [[Vice Chief of the Air Staff (India)|Vice Chief of the Air Staff]]
|-
| 5|| [[Air vice marshal (India)|Air Vice Marshal]] Balwant Wickram Chauhan, {{small|{{postnominals|country=IND|sep=,|AVSM}}}}|| 14 August 1978|| 23 October 1979 || Later [[Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Training Command]] and [[Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Central Air Command]].
|-
| 6|| [[Air vice marshal (India)|Air Vice Marshal]] Terence Joseph Desa || 24 October 1979 || 6 April 1981 || Later [[Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Air Command]].
|-
| 7|| [[Air vice marshal (India)|Air Vice Marshal]] Rajagopal Sriramulu Naidu, {{small|{{postnominals|country=IND|sep=,|VM}}}}|| 13 April 1981|| 25 June 1983 || Later [[Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Air Command]].
|-
| 8|| [[Air vice marshal (India)|Air Vice Marshal]] [[Cecil Vivian Parker]], {{small|{{postnominals|country=IND|sep=,|MVC|VM}}}}|| 1 July 1983|| 20 March 1985 ||
|-
| 9|| [[Air vice marshal (India)|Air Vice Marshal]] Jagdish Kumar Seth, {{small|{{postnominals|country=IND|sep=,|AVSM|VM}}}}|| 25 March 1985|| 7 February 1986 || Later [[Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Training Command]].
|-
| 10|| [[Air vice marshal (India)|Air Vice Marshal]] Har Krishan Oberai, {{small|{{postnominals|country=IND|sep=,|AVSM|VM}}}}||22 March 1986||30 December 1987 ||
|-
| 11|| [[Air vice marshal (India)|Air Vice Marshal]] Eric Lionel Allen, {{small|{{postnominals|country=IND|sep=,|AVSM|VM}}}}||19 January 1988||28 February 1990 ||{{sfn|Sondhi|2022}}
|-
| 12|| [[Air vice marshal (India)|Air Vice Marshal]] Manjunath Sadanand, {{small|{{postnominals|country=IND|sep=,|AVSM}}}}||5 March 1990||30 November 1991 ||
|-
| 13|| [[Air vice marshal (India)|Air Vice Marshal]] P. K. Mani, {{small|{{postnominals|country=IND|sep=,|VM}}}}||2 December 1991||30 September 1993 ||
|-
| 14|| [[Air vice marshal (India)|Air Vice Marshal]] [[Krishnan Narayan Nair]], {{small|{{postnominals|country=IND|sep=,|VM}}}}||1 October 1993||20 December 1995 || Later [[Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Air Command]] and [[Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Air Command]].
|-
| 15|| [[Air vice marshal (India)|Air Vice Marshal]] M. B. Madon, {{small|[[Vayu Sena Medal|VM]] [[Medal bar|& bar]]}}||21 December 1995 ||17 August 1998 || Later [[Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Air Command]].
|-
| 16|| [[Air vice marshal (India)|Air Vice Marshal]] Jogendra Singh Sisodia, {{small|{{postnominals|country=IND|sep=,|AVSM|VM}}}}||18 August 1998 ||31 July 2000 ||
|-
| 16|| [[Air vice marshal (India)|Air Vice Marshal]] [[Subhash Bhojwani]], {{small|{{postnominals|country=IND|sep=,|AVSM|VSM}}}}||1 August 2000 ||5 June 2002 || Later [[Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Training Command]].
|-
| 17|| [[Air vice marshal (India)|Air Vice Marshal]] Vinod Kumar Verma, {{small|{{postnominals|country=IND|sep=,|VM|VSM}}}}||1 July 2002 ||11 January 2004 || Later [[Inspector General of Flight Safety]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dec 18 |first1=TNN / |title=AFA introduces a new concept in curriculum {{!}} Hyderabad News - Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/afa-introduces-a-new-concept-in-curriculum/articleshow/31603326.cms |website=The Times of India |access-date=8 April 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
|-
| 18|| [[Air vice marshal (India)|Air Vice Marshal]] Yashwant Rao Rane, {{small|{{postnominals|country=IND|sep=,|AVSM|VM}}}} ||12 January 2004 ||31 August 2005 || Later [[Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Air Command]].
|-
| 19|| [[Air vice marshal (India)|Air Vice Marshal]] Dhiraj Kukreja, {{small|{{postnominals|country=IND|sep=,|AVSM|VSM}}}} ||1 September 2005 ||29 February 2008 || Later [[Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Training Command]].
|-
| 20|| [[Air vice marshal (India)|Air Vice Marshal]] K. J. Mathews, {{small|{{postnominals|country=IND|sep=,|AVSM|YSM}}}} ||1 March 2008 ||31 August 2009 || Later Commander-in-Chief, [[Strategic Forces Command]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Untitled Document |url=http://sainiksamachar.nic.in/englisharchives/2008/sep15-08/h10.html |website=sainiksamachar.nic.in |access-date=8 April 2022}}</ref>
|-
| 21|| [[Air vice marshal (India)|Air Vice Marshal]] Amit Aneja, {{small|{{postnominals|country=IND|sep=,|AVSM|VM|VSM}}}} ||1 September 2009 ||31 March 2011 || <ref>{{cite web |title=Amit Aneja takes charge as Commandant of AFA |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/Amit-Aneja-takes-charge-as-Commandant-of-AFA/article16878400.ece |website=The Hindu |access-date=8 April 2022 |language=en-IN |date=1 September 2022}}</ref>
|-
| 22|| [[Air marshal (India)|Air Marshal]] Priya Ranjan Sharma, {{small|{{postnominals|country=IND|sep=,|AVSM}}}} ||1 April 2011 ||31 December 2012 || <ref>{{cite web |title=h11 |url=http://sainiksamachar.nic.in/englisharchives/2013/feb01-13/h11.htm |website=sainiksamachar.nic.in |access-date=8 April 2022}}</ref>
|-
| 23|| [[Air marshal (India)|Air Marshal]] R. G. Burli, {{small|{{postnominals|country=IND|sep=,|VM}}}} ||1 January 2013 ||30 June 2014 || <ref>{{cite web |title=Air Marshal Burli takes over as chief of Air Force Academy |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/air-marshal-burli-takes-over-as-chief-of-air-force-academy/articleshow/17844333.cms?from=mdr |website=The Economic Times |access-date=8 April 2022}}</ref>
|-
| 24|| [[Air marshal (India)|Air Marshal]] Gurinder Pal Singh, {{small|{{postnominals|country=IND|sep=,|VM}}}} ||1 July 2014 ||30 November 2016 || <ref name="TH">{{cite web |title=Amit Tiwari takes charge as AFA Commandant |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/Amit-Tiwari-takes-charge-as-AFA-Commandant/article16760428.ece |website=The Hindu |access-date=8 April 2022 |language=en-IN |date=5 December 2022}}</ref>
|-
| 25|| [[Air marshal (India)|Air Marshal]] [[Amit Tiwari (air marshal)|Amit Tiwari]], {{small|{{postnominals|country=IND|sep=,|VM}}}} ||1 December 2016 ||3 September 2018 || Later [[Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Air Command]] and [[Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Central Air Command]].<ref name="TH" /><ref>{{cite web |title=h21 |url=http://www.sainiksamachar.nic.in/englisharchives/2018/jun16-18/h21.htm |website=www.sainiksamachar.nic.in |access-date=8 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Air Marshal Amit Tiwari takes over as SAC chief |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/air-marshal-amit-tiwari-takes-over-as-sac-chief/article29856255.ece |website=The Hindu |access-date=8 April 2022 |language=en-IN |date=1 November 2022}}</ref>
|-
| 26|| [[Air marshal (India)|Air Marshal]] [[Arvindra Singh Butola]], {{small|{{postnominals|country=IND|sep=,|VM|VSM}}}} ||4 September 2018 ||13 October 2019|| Later [[Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Training Command]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sep 4 |first1=PTI / Updated |title=Air Marshal Butola takes over as Commandant of Air Force Academy {{!}} India News - Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/air-marshal-butola-takes-over-as-commandant-of-air-force-academy/articleshow/65674917.cms |website=The Times of India |access-date=8 April 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
|-
| 27|| [[Air marshal (India)|Air Marshal]] [[Jonnalagedda Chalapati]], {{small|{{postnominals|country=IND|sep=,|VSM}}}} ||14 October 2019||31 July 2020|| Current [[Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Air Command]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Air Marshal J. Chalapati takes over as commandant of IAF |url=https://www.siasat.com/air-marshal-j-chalapati-takes-over-commandant-iaf-1694690/ |website=The Siasat Daily |access-date=8 April 2022 |date=16 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Air Marshal J.Chalapati takes over as SAC chief |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/air-marshal-jchalapatitakes-over-as-sac-chief/article36823064.ece |website=The Hindu |access-date=8 April 2022 |language=en-IN |date=4 October 2021}}</ref>
|-
| 28|| [[Air marshal (India)|Air Marshal]] I. P. Vipin, {{small|{{postnominals|country=IND|sep=,|AVSM|VM}}}} ||1 August 2020||31 July 2021|| Earlier [[Commandant of the National Defence Academy]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Air Marshal IP Vipin takes over as Commandant of Air Force Academy, Secunderabad |url=https://www.businessworld.in/article/Air-Marshal-IP-Vipin-takes-over-as-Commandant-of-Air-Force-Academy-Secunderabad/02-08-2020-304140/ |website=BW Businessworld |access-date=8 April 2022 |language=en |date=2 August 2022}}</ref>
|-
| 29|| [[Air marshal (India)|Air Marshal]] [[Sanjeev Kapoor (air marshal)|Sanjeev Kapoor]], {{small|{{postnominals|country=IND|sep=,|AVSM|VM}}}} ||1 August 2021||31 October 2021|| Later [[Commandant of the National Defence Academy]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=India |first1=The Hans |title=Air Marshal Sanjeev Kapoor takes over as Commandant of Air Force Academy |url=https://www.thehansindia.com/telangana/air-marshal-sanjeev-kapoor-takes-over-as-commandant-of-air-force-academy-699367 |website=www.thehansindia.com |access-date=8 April 2022 |language=en |date=2 August 2021}}</ref>
|-
| 30|| [[Air marshal (India)|Air Marshal]] [[Sreekumar Prabhakaran]], {{small|{{postnominals|country=IND|sep=,|AVSM|VM}}}} ||1 November 2021||28 February 2022|| Current [[Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Air Command]].
|-
| 30|| [[Air marshal (India)|Air Marshal]] [[B Chandra Sekhar]], {{small|{{postnominals|country=IND|sep=,|AVSM}}}} ||1 March 2022|| Present || Current Commandant.<ref>{{cite web |title=Air Marshal B Chandra Sekhar takes over as Commandant, Air Force Academy |url=https://theprint.in/india/air-marshal-b-chandra-sekhar-takes-over-as-commandant-air-force-academy/864655/ |website=ThePrint |access-date=8 April 2022 |date=8 March 2022}}</ref>
|-
|}

==See also==
* [[Commandant of the Indian Military Academy]]
* [[Commandant of Indian Naval Academy]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|50em|group=n}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{citation|first1=Aditya|last1=Sondhi|title=The Order of the Crest: Tracing the Alumni of Bishop Cotton Boys’ School, Bangalore (1865–2015)|year=2015|isbn=978-0670088003|publisher=Penguin Viking}}

{{Indian military academies and colleges}}

[[Category:Indian Air Force]]
[[Category:Military academies of India]]
[[Category:Indian military appointments]]
[[Category:Indian Air Force appointments]]

Commandant of the Air Force Academy (India) - Revision history

Josefa1802: added formatting additionally and corrected details per standard format

Bot: robot: Create/upgrade articles. If there is a mistake please report on my talk page.