Air Marshal J Chalapati has taken over as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) of the Southern Air Command (SAC)
A guard of honour was presented to the Air Marshal on taking over the command.
Mr.Chalapati did his schooling from the Hyderabad Public School before joining the National Defence Academy in 1980. Commissioned in the IAF in December 1983, he is a qualified flying instructor and an experimental test pilot on various types of fighters, transports and helicopters and the indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft Tejas. He has experience in design, development and testing of aircraft with DRDO and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited where he has served as a Chief Test Pilot. Prior to his tenure at Southern Air Command, he was Commandant of Air Force Academy.
Mr.Chalapati has completed his National Defence Course from Bangladesh and Masters Degree in Military Studies from King's College London. The Air Officer has received the Vishisht Seva Medal.
