Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari, PVSM AVSM VM ADC is an air officer of the Indian Air Force. He currently serves as the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS). He took over as the 27th CAS succeeding Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria on 30 September 2021.[3] He earlier served as the 45th Vice Chief of the Air Staff and as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Air Command.Chaudhari was commissioned in the Indian Air Force as a fighter pilot on 29 December 1982. He is a Category 'A' qualified flying instructor, and Instrument Rating Instructor and examiner. He has a flying experience of over 3800 hours on various fighter aircraft including MiG-21, MiG-23MF, MiG-29 and Su-30MKI. He was also a pioneer member of the Surya Kiran Aerobatic Display Team.[12] As a fighter pilot, he flew operational missions during Operation Meghdoot and Operation Safed Sagar
