Arup Raha, a veteran fighter pilot, today took over as the 24th chief of the Indian Air Force succeeding Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne
In a brief ceremony, Raha, 59, assumed the charge of the air force from Browne in presence of senior officers, including new Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal R K Sharma and Deputy Chief Air Marshal S Sukumar.
Born on December 26, 1954, he will remain the IAF chief for three years. Soon after taking over, Air Chief Marshal Raha, in his message to the 1.75 lakh-strong force, said the IAF is on a trajectory of modernisation and is transforming into a strategic aerospace power with full spectrum capability.
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"In this strategic transformation process, I expect sustained efforts and special attention from all air warriors to maintain high operational status of the legacy equipment, while operationalising the new inductions in a time-bound manner," he said.
Raha said the force will continue to support the maintenance of security forces deployed for counter-insurgency operations. "Sustained efforts in air maintenance in the northern and eastern sectors are being appreciated by the military, para- military, central agencies and state authorities," he said.
Commissioned on December 14, 1974 in the fighter stream of the IAF, Raha has held various command, staff and instructional appointments in his 39-year-old career. He has also served as Air Attache at the Embassy of India in Ukraine.
Besides various technical courses, Raha has done Strategic Nuclear Orientation Course and Junior Commanders' course.
The IAF chief, who is an alumni of the Sainik School, Tillaiyya, said, "Accretion through new acquisitions, replacement of obsolete equipment with state-of-the-art inductions and upgrade of the vintage weapon platforms would bolster our capabilities."
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