Diptendu Choudhury

Air Marshal Diptendu Choudhury, PVSM, AVSM, VM, VSM is a retired officer of the Indian Air Force. He served as the 32nd Commandant, National Defence College. He assumed the office on 16 December 2019 succeeding Vice Admiral Srikant and served till his superannuation on 30 November 2021.

Early life and education Diptendu Choudhury's father was an officer in the Indian Air Force and he did his schooling from The Air Force School, Delhi Cantt. Choudhury is an alumnus of National Defence Academy, Pune and The Air Force Academy (India), Dundigal. He is also an alumnus of Royal College of Defence Studies, UK. He is a Post Graduate in Strategy and International Security from King's College, London and Master of Philosophy in Defence and Strategic Studies.

Career Diptendu Choudhury was commissioned as a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force. In a career spanning over 37 years, he has as more than 5000 hours of flying experience across various fighter aircraft. He is fully operational on MiG-21, MiG-27, MiG-29 and Su-30 aircraft.

After his promotion to Air Marshal in April 2019, he served as the Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO), Western Air Command till 15 December 2019.

He took over as the Commandant, National Defence College on 16 December 2019 from Vice Admiral Srikant. Under his command, a Chair of Excellence on National Security was set up at the National Defence College.

After his retirement he is on the Visiting Faculty of various defence institutions. He is currently pursuing Ph.D. in air power and has also authored a large number of service papers. He is serving as a Distinguished Fellow, at Vivekananda International Foundation. He has authored a book on 'Indian Air Power.' He was also the Indian Air Force Advisor on the Hindi feature film Fighter.

Honours and decorations During his career, Diptendu Choudhury has been awarded the Commendation card by the Chief of the Air Staff in 1992, Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2022, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2018, Vayu Sena Medal in 2011 and Vishisht Seva Medal in 2007 for his service.