Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra takes charge as Chief of IAF's Western Command

Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra on Wednesday took charge as the chief of Indian Air Force's Western Air Command.

A Fighter Combat Leader and an experimental Test Pilot, Air Marshal Mishra has more than 3000 hours of flying experience.

The Air Marshal was commissioned into the Indian Air Force as a fighter pilot in December 1986.  He is an alumnus of National Defence Academy, Pune, and Air Force Test Pilots School, Bangalore. He went to the Air Command and Staff College, USA, and Royal College of Defence Studies, UK.

He has commanded a Fighter Squadron, been a chief test pilot. Air Marshal Mishra succeeds Air Marshal Pankaj Mohan Sinha who superannuated on December 31.

The Western Air Command of the IAF is the largest and most significant command. It is headquartered at New Delhi and is responsible for both fronts – Pakistan and China.

Its area of responsibility includes Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh facing China. On the western front, it is tasked to Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and parts of Rajasthan.  

IAF bases at Chandigarh, New Delhi and Western Uttar Pradesh are also part of WAC.

The WAC has been involved in all major operations since India's independence, including the Kashmir Operations (1947-48), the Sino-Indian Conflict (1962), the Indo-Pak Wars (1965 and 1971), Operation Pawan (1986 in Sri Lanka), Operation Safed Sagar (1999 in Kargil), and Operation Snow Leopard (2020 in Eastern Ladakh).