Air Marshal Inderpal Singh Walia. (Photo: IAF)
New Delhi: Air Marshal Inderpal Singh Walia has been appointed the next Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS) of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and will assume charge on November 1.
He is currently the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Air Command.
He succeeds Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, who is set to take over as the 29th Chief of the Air Staff on October 31. The VCAS is the second-highest post in the IAF.
An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Air Marshal Walia was commissioned in the fighter stream of the IAF on June 11, 1988.
He is qualified on all variants of the MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-27, Jaguar and Su-30 MKI. In a career of nearly four decades, he has held a range of command and staff appointments.
He has commanded a frontline fighter squadron, the Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment (TACDE), and Air Force Station Bareilly.
He has also served as head of the Directorate of Air Staff Inspection (DASI) and as Senior Air Staff Officer at Eastern Air Command. On the diplomatic side, he was the defence attaché at the Indian embassies in Japan and South Korea.
His professional military education includes the Advanced Command and Staff Course in the UK and the National Defence College course in Bangladesh.
He holds three postgraduate degrees in defence and strategic studies.
He was awarded the Vayu Sena Medal in 2008 and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2018 for distinguished service.
