Air Marshal Fali H Major to be new chief of IAF

NEW DELHI: Air Marshal Fali H Major, Air Officer-Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Air Command, on Tuesday became the first helicopter pilot to be named as Chief of the Indian Air Force.

Major, the senior-most Air Marshal in the IAF, will succeed Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi when he retires on March 31, according to an official announcement here.

With his appointment, the government has chosen to uphold the principle of seniority and waived the tradition of only making fighter pilots head of the world's fourth largest air force.