Air Marshal N J S Dhillon today took charge as Senior Air Staff Officer of Western Air Command.
He took over from Air Marshal B Suresh, who assumes charge of Air Officer-in-Charge, Personnel, at Air Headquarters, a official release said.
Prior to his appointment, Dhillion was Air Defence Commander of HQ Southern Air Command, it said.
Air Marshal Dhillon, a recipient of Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM), is a graduate of National Defence Academy, Defence Service Staff College, and National Defence College.
He was commissioned as a fighter IAF pilot in December 1981, and has over 3,700 hours of accident-free flying to his credit including 3,100 hrs on all variants of MiG-21 aircraft, it said.
He has commanded a MiG-21 Squadron and has been the Chief Operational Officer of a premier flying base.
In addition to commanding an operational fighter base, he also commanded a helicopter base in Democratic Republic of Congo as part of UN Peace Keeping Mission.
Air Marshal Dhillon also held the charge of Principal Director, Air Defence, and Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Inspection) at Air HQ.
