IAF Chief AP Singh Gets Three Official Farewells Before October 31 Retirement

New Delhi, October 30, 2026: Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh is set to retire on October 31 after a 25-month tenure as the 28th Chief of the Air Staff, and the Indian Air Force has already hosted three official farewell events for him ahead of his superannuation. A final ceremonial Guard of Honour is scheduled for his last day in office at Air Force Station, New Delhi.

Senior officials said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh personally extended an official farewell to Air Chief Marshal Singh on October 26, before leaving on a foreign visit. That was followed by a farewell dinner hosted by senior Air Force commanders on October 27 at the Akash Officers’ Mess near India Gate, and a farewell party organised by Air Headquarters on October 28 at the Air Force auditorium in Subroto Park.

The concluding ceremony will take the form of a Guard of Honour at Air Force Station, New Delhi, which is located opposite the Prime Minister’s residence on Lok Kalyan Marg. Air Chief Marshal Singh took charge as Chief of the Air Staff on September 30, 2024, succeeding Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari.

As part of the farewell arrangements, the Ministry of Defence granted special clearance for Air Chief Marshal Singh to fly with his first flying instructor, Wing Commander V.S. Kochhar (Retd). On October 20, he flew his last sortie in uniform in an HJT-16 Kiran Mk-1 trainer, tail number U-707, at the Air Force Academy, Dundigal, near Hyderabad. The sortie was especially symbolic because it was at the same place and in the same aircraft type where he began his flying training on January 28, 1984. The 55-minute flight brought the journey full circle, and he received a water-cannon salute on landing. Special high-level permissions are required for any retired or civilian personnel to fly in military aircraft.

Earlier, on October 12 during Exercise Tarang Shakti at Jodhpur, he also flew his final fighter sortie in the indigenous LCA Tejas. Air Chief Marshal Singh is a Qualified Flying Instructor and Experimental Test Pilot with more than 5,000 flying hours. He was commissioned into the fighter stream on December 21, 1984, after graduating from the Air Force Academy with the Sword of Honour. Born on October 27, 1964, he has received the Param Vishisht Seva Medal and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal. Within the service, he is also known for his interest in squash.

Officials clarified that the traditional “golfing-out” farewell, which is an unofficial custom, could not be held because the Indian Air Force Sports Complex on Lok Kalyan Marg had been closed. Their remarks came amid speculation that a farewell had been withheld because the land of the Air Force golf course had been taken over by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, the current Vice Chief of the Air Staff, will take over as the 29th Chief of the Air Staff in the rank of Air Chief Marshal on the afternoon of October 31. Commissioned into the fighter stream in December 1986, he is an Experimental Test Pilot and Qualified Flying Instructor with more than 3,500 flying hours on aircraft including the Mirage-2000, Jaguar, MiG variants, Hawk and Tejas. His tenure is scheduled to continue until December 31, 2028. He has previously served as Chief of Integrated Defence Staff and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Central Air Command.

The change of command brings to a close Air Chief Marshal Singh’s leadership of the Indian Air Force after nearly four decades of service.