Vivek Ram Chaudhari

Career

Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari was commissioned in the Indian Air Force as a fighter pilot on 29 December 1982 from the Air Force Academy, Dundigal. During his career spanning over four decades, he has held various staff and instructional appointments and served in a wide spectrum of terrain. He is a Category 'A' qualified flying instructor, and Instrument Rating Instructor and examiner. He has a flying experience of over 3800 hours on various fighter aircraft including MiG-21, MiG-23MF, MiG-29 and Su-30MKI. He was also a pioneer member of the Surya Kiran Aerobatic Display Team. As a fighter pilot, he flew operational missions during Operation Meghdoot and Operation Safed Sagar. He has commanded the MiG-29 squadron, No. 28 Squadron IAF at Jamnagar and the forward base in Awantipora in Jammu and Kashmir. He also served as the chief operations officer of the Srinagar Air Force Station.

Flag officer As an Air commodore, he served as the Air assistant to the then Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik. He subsequently commanded the Lohegaon Air base in Pune. He has also served as an instructor at DSSC Wellington as well as Defence Services Command and Staff College at Lusaka, Zambia. He subsequently was appointed the Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Personnel Officers). On 2 October 2018 he took over as the Deputy Chief of Air Staff at Air Headquarters, New Delhi.

On 1 August 2020, he took over as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Air Command succeeding Air Marshal Balakrishnan Suresh. He retired on 30 September 2024 after four decades of service and was succeeded by Air Marshal Amar Preet Singh. thumb

Honours and decorations During his career, he has been awarded the Vayu Sena Medal in 2004, the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2015 and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2021 for his service.

Personal life He is married to Neeta Chaudhari. They have two sons.

Dates of rank