Air Marshal Inderpal Singh Walia assumed charge as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Indian Air Force's Eastern Air Command on Sunday, a Defence Ministry statement said. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, the Air Marshal was commissioned in the Fighter stream of the IAF on June 11, 1988, the statement said.
Qualified on all variants of the MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-27, Jaguar, and Su-30 MKI, he has over 3, 200 hours of accident/incident-free flying, it said. In a career spanning over three decades, the Air Officer has held various command and staff appointments.
He has commanded a MiG-27 Squadron, the Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment (TACDE) and was Air Officer Commanding of a frontline base, it said. He is a Fighter Strike Leader, an Instrument Rating Instructor & Examiner (IRIE), has undergone the Advanced Command and Staff Course in the UK, and the National Defence College in Bangladesh, said the statement.
The Air Marshal has served as the Defence Attache at the Indian Embassies in Japan and South Korea. Serving as Air Commodore, Directorate of Air Staff Inspection (DASI), the Assistant Chief of Air Staff, Training, at the Air HQ and Air Defence Commander of the Western Air Command, he was serving as the Senior Air Staff Officer at the Eastern Air Command before taking over its command, the statement said.
In recognition of his distinguished service, he was awarded the Vayu Sena Medal (VM) in 2008 and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) in 2018. Air Marshal Walia succeeds Air Marshal Surat Singh, who superannuated on January 31, 2026, after 39 years of distinguished and devoted service to the nation.