New Delhi, May 1 (PTI) Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor, a highly experienced fighter pilot with more than 3,400 flying hours to his credit, on Thursday took charge as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) of the South Western Air Command (SWAC).

He succeeds Air Marshal Narmdeshwar Tiwari, who is set to take charge as the Vice Chief of the Air Staff on May 2.

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South Western Air Command is headquartered in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

On arrival, he was presented with a ceremonial guard of honour at the headquarters in Gandhinagar.

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The air marshal graduated from the National Defence Academy in December 1985 and commissioned in the IAF on December 6, 1986, according to a statement shared by the IAF.

He is a highly experienced fighter pilot, a qualified flying instructor and a fighter combat leader who has flown a variety of combat and trainer aircraft, it said.

The air marshal has flown all variants of MiG-21 and the MiG-29 with more than 3,400 flying hours to his credit. He is also an alumnus of the Defence Services Staff College and National Defence College, it said

During his illustrious career, he has held numerous field and staff appointments. He has also served as a defence attache in Pakistan, it said.

His operational tenures include being the commanding officer of a fighter squadron in the central sector, station commander of a flying base in the western sector and Air Officer Commanding of a premier air base.

"He has also done instructional tenures as Directing Staff at the Defence Services Staff College and Chief Instructor (Flying) at Air Force Academy during which he was instrumental in the induction and operationalisation of PC-7 MK II aircraft in the Indian Air Force," the statement said.

His senior staff appointments include Assistant Chief of Air Staff Operations (Strategy) at Air HQ, Air Defence Commander at South Western Air Command, Senior Air Staff Officer at HQ Central Air Command and Air Officer-in-Charge Personnel at Air HQ, it said.

Prior to assuming the charge as the AOC-in-C, SWAC, the air marshal was AOC-in-C, Training Command.

For his distinguished service, the air marshal has been awarded the Vayu Sena Medal in 2008, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2022 and Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2025.

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