NEW DELHI: The Indian Air Force (IAF) will accord the ceremonial guard of honour to outgoing chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh on Saturday and to his successor Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit on Sunday, at Air Force Station New Delhi on Lok Kalyan Marg. It is the same station whose sports complex was shut this week as the Centre moves to take back the land.
The timing, however, is purely coincidental, officials insist. The decision to shift the ceremony out of Air Headquarters was taken on account of space constraints and had been under discussion for a while, well before the land row erupted, officials added.
Until now, the guard of honour for top IAF brass was held at Vayu Bhawan. As recently as July 1, Air Marshal Dixit himself reviewed his guard of honour there on taking over as vice-chief.
"The parking lot at Air HQ near South Block, where these parades are staged, is relatively cramped. The station, opposite the PM's residence, offers a much larger parade ground. This will be the first time the ceremony is held there," an IAF official said.
As reported earlier, the closure of the Air Force Sports Complex meant ACM Singh's customary golfing-out, scheduled for Wednesday, did not take place. The farewell round is traditionally held for outgoing chiefs, who serve as patrons-in-chief of the course.
The defence ministry Friday also shared pictures on X of the farewell Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hosted for ACM Singh on 26 October, a day before he left for Cebu in the Philippines to attend the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus).
ACM Singh hangs up his uniform after 42 years. He led the IAF through Operation Sindoor, when its strikes pounded Pakistani airbases. As he later disclosed, S-400 systems brought down five Pakistani fighters and a large surveillance aircraft.
Never one to mince words, ACM Singh repeatedly took HAL to task over Tejas delays, at a time when the IAF is down to just 29 fighter squadrons against the sanctioned 42. He also pushed back against a hasty rollout of theatre commands, batting instead for a joint planning and coordination centre in Delhi.
Air Marshal Dixit, an experimental test pilot with over 3,500 flying hours, now takes the IAF's helm as its 29th chief, with a tenure till December 31, 2028.