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RKS Bhadauria, man who led Rafale talks, is IAF Chief

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RKS Bhadauria, man who led Rafale talks, is IAF Chief

Commissioned in the fighter stream of IAF on June 1980, ACM Bhadauria had won the coveted ‘Sword of Honour’ for standing first in the overall order of merit.

The chairman of the Indian negotiating team for the 36 Rafale jets deal with France, Air Marshal RKS Bhadauria, the current Vice Chief of the Indian Air Force, will take over its reins by the end of this month.

The Modi government on Thursday appointed Bhadauria as the next Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief. He was scheduled to retire on September 30, the day the incumbent Chief Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa also superannuates. Bhadauria will take over after Dhanoa retires. Services chiefs have a tenure either for three years or until 62 years of age, whichever comes first.

Bhadauria has played a major role in the indigenous Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme. The same aircraft on which Rajnath Singh flew a sortie in Bangalore on Thursday, making him the first Defence Minister in India to do this. In fact, Bhadauria had a close connection with the combat jet, as he was a Chief Test Pilot and Project Director of the National Flight Test Centre on the LCA project. He was involved in the initial prototype flight tests on the Tejas.

Bhadauria who was commissioned into the IAF’s fighter stream on June 15, 1980 with a ‘Sword of Honour’, has clocked over 4,250 flying hours on 26 types of fighters and transport aircraft. Some of the important ones he has flown include the MiG-21s and Jaguars. He went on to command the IAF’s 5 Squadron of Jaguars at Ambala, a frontline base on the western front. But, he is better known for being an experimental test pilot, a Category ‘A’ qualified flying instructor and pilot attack instructor. Another important assignment was as the Commanding Officer of the Flight Test Squadron at the Aircraft & Systems Testing Establishment, which conducts flight testing of aircraft, airborne systems and weapon stores prior to their induction into the IAF, meaning the pilots are some of the best.

Bhadauria’s ability in dealing with the defence industry and development programs gave him the recognition to head the Indian negotiating team for the procurement of the 36 Rafale jets, when he was the IAF’s Deputy Chief from 2016 to 2017. It was under him that several obstacles were removed, paving the way for the deal to be signed in September 2016. In view of his commitment, his initials- RB008- will be the tail number of the first Rafale produced for India. Bhadauria had taken a sortie in a Rafale during the Indo-Frence exercise, Garuda, from the French Air Force base of Mont-de-Marsan. He had called it a ‘game changer’ against India’s adversaries, including Pakistan. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be on a visit to France on October 8 for the handing over ceremony of the first Rafale.

Bhadauria headed two IAF commands- Southern in Thiruvananthapuram and Training in Bangalore. The IAF’s first LCA squadron- ‘Flying Daggers’ was shifted to Sulur, while he was the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Southern Air Command. He was later appointed as IAF’s Vice Chief on May 1. Similar to his case, in the past Air Chief Marshal N C Suri became the IAF Chief on the day he was scheduled to retire, July 31, 1991.

With the appointment of Bhadauria for the post, the Modi government has followed the seniority principle, unlike what was done for the army and navy. The other names that were being considered for the IAF Chief post included Air Marshal R Nambiar, who heads the Western Air Command, and Southern Air Commander, Air Marshal B. Suresh. Nambiar was also involved in the Rafale negotiations and had defended the deal when the Congress raised a controversy over it.

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