Air Marshal Walia takes charge as AOC-in-C Eastern Air Command

Air Marshal Inderpal Singh Walia on Sunday (January 1, 2026) assumed charge as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Air Command of the Indian Air Force (IAF), an official said.

An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Mr. Walia is qualified on all variants of MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-27, Jaguar and Sukhoi-30 MKI. “Commissioned in the fighter jet stream of the IAF in June 1988, he has over 3,200 hours of accident-free flying experience,” the Defence official said.

Mr. Walia has also served as the Defence attache at the Indian Embassy in Japan and South Korea. Walia succeeds Air Marshal Surat Singh, who superannuated on January 31, after 39 years of service.

Before taking over as the AOC-in-C, Eastern Air Command, he was senior air staff officer at headquarters, EAC, the official said. On the same day, Air Marshal Devendra P Hirani took charge as the senior air staff officer at the Eastern Air Command.

Commissioned in the IAF in December 1990, he is a qualified flying instructor with approximately 5,000 hours of flying experience on various types of helicopters and trainer aircraft, the official statement said.