Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria is an Indian Air Force personnel who was appointed the Chief of the Air Staff in September 2019; after the retirement of BS Dhanoa from the same post.
Wiki/Biography
RKS Bhadauria was born in a village near Agra. Mr Bhadauria is an alumnus of Pune’s National Defence Academy. He also holds a Masters in Defence Studies from Command and Staff College, Bangladesh.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5’ 6″
Eye Colour: Black
Hair Colour: Black
Family, Caste & Wife
RKS Bhadauria is married to Asha Bhadauria, and the couple has two children. Not much is known about his parents. He belongs to the Rajput Community.
Career
Mr Bhadauria was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on 15 June 1980. Since his induction into the Indian Air Force, he has held many important designations including Commander of a Jaguar Squadron at a front line base in South-Western sector and Commanding Officer of Flight Test Squadron at Aircraft and System Testing Establishment. He has also served as Chief Test Pilot and Project Director of National Flight Test Centre on the Tejas LCA project.
RKS Bhadauria Onboard Tejas
Besides these posts, he has also served as the Commandant of the National Defence Academy and the Senior Air Staff Officer at Central Air Command. Mr. Bhadauria held the post of the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff from 1 January 2016 to 28 February 2017. From 1 March 2017 to 1 August 2018, he served as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) of the Southern Air Command. From 1 August 2018, Mr Bhadauria served as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) of the Training Command till his elevation to the Chief of the Air Staff in September 2019. On 30 September 2019, he took charge as the 26th chief of the Indian Air Force.
Awards
- Vayu Sena Medal (January 2002)
- Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (January 2013)
- Param Vishisht Seva Medal (January 2018)
Facts
- He was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force with the Sword of Honour.
- His rank is Air Marshal, and his service number is 16026.
- He is an Experimental Test Pilot, a Category A qualified Flying Instructor, and a Pilot Attack Instructor.
- Mr Bhadauria has experience of over 4250 hours of flying and has experienced 26 different types of fighters.