ACM Bhadauria just prior to taxi out for the last time in a fighter (photo: Angad Singh)
Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria flew his last sortie as Chief of Air Staff (CAS) on the morning of 13 September 2021. He was, as he had done many times during his tenure as Chief, flying a frontline fighter solo – in this case a MiG-21 Bison. The type of aircraft had more to do with history than familiarity or leading by example, although the latter is inevitable when any senior commander flies an operational jet, particularly one as controversial as the venerable MiG-21. This choice was about coming full circle – Bhadauria’s flying career in the IAF began with MiG-21s of No. 23 Squadron ‘Panthers’ at Halwara, and so it ended, in a Panthers MiG-21 at the same station.
The CAS getting airborne from Halwara (photo: Angad Singh)
The Chief flew more or less like any line pilot would – a morning brief covering the flight profile, safety, weather, diversion airfields and so on, followed by a preflight check and climbing into the Bison. He took some time to re-familiarise himself with the cockpit before closing the canopy, starting up and taxiing out along with the CO of No. 23 Squadron. The sortie was short and uneventful, involving some close formation flying and aerobatics at height. When the jets returned to terra firma, Bhadauria’s aircraft was welcomed in with a water cannon salute before he parked and switched off the R-25 turbojet for the last time.
Air Chief interacting with the Panthers ground crew after completing his last fighter sortie (photo: Angad Singh)
The Air Chief with CO No. 23 Sqn after their flight (photo: Angad Singh)
Why do they do it?
The Indian Air Force demands that its commanders lead from the front – in times of war the first sorties are led by Squadron COs, as was the case in Kargil, Op Parakram, and the 2019 Balakot strikes. It is natural then, for senior leadership to imbibe and continue this practice even after they move on from active flying. The late Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh was famous for this as far back in the 1950s, when he was AOC Operational Command.
[Arjan Singh] was a typical ‘operational’ officer who believed in absolute professionalism. He was not impressed with the usual superficial spit-and-polish carried out in preparation for an inspection. All he expected was smartly turned out personnel who knew their job and carried it out efficiently. He did not like any fuss made over him and insisted that everyone went about their duties in their normal way. He visited our operational base without any warning, flying in by himself, in a single-seat fighter aircraft (Vampire Mk.52). His distinctive callsign was “One-Zero” and his radio call to our ATC was the first indication that he was just two minutes away.
[…] There was no ceremonial reception, no guard of honour, no fancy car, no silver tea service, no formal dinner, no unnecessary fuss. He did not bring a Staff Officer with him, or even an ADC. All he wanted was to personally check on the operational preparedness of the Station.
Those were the days, my friends! We knew we had a Boss who meant business. And we did our very best to never let him down. He nurtured our Air Force for the next 12 years, till he retired as the Chief of the Air Staff in July 1969. Later, after he was awarded the lifetime serving rank of Marshal of the Air Force on 26 January 2002, he continued to keep a benign watch on us.
These recollections, excerpted from a tribute penned by Air Marshal Shashi Ramdas on Arjan Singh’s death in September 2017, are an evocative reminder of the value placed by the rank and file of a fighting service on leadership by example, and from the front.
ACM Bhadauria with officers and airmen of No. 23 Sqn after his final flight (photo: Angad Singh)
The IAF is unique in the Indian military in that the service is almost entirely centered around flying and aircraft. Leaders who keep ‘flying fit’ and work toward getting stick time are not only better able to feel the pulse of the personnel and units they command, their being seen doing it reminds the force that their leadership is willing to put in the same effort and assume the same risks.
This has taken on greater salience in recent times, with Air Chiefs particularly keen to fly MiG-21s to dispel the aura of negativity surrounding the type (and similar legacy aircraft like the now-retired MiG-23 and MiG-27). The effect is of course amplified when the fighters are flown solo. And if the CAS is qualified and able to fly a wider range of aircraft, he is able to ‘reach’ more of the men and women under his command, the transport and helicopter fleets being no less vital to air power than fast jets.
Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria has flown extensively through his 41-year career. When he took over as Chief in 2019, a press release put his hours at north of 4,250 across all types. He has added considerably to that total since putting on the fourth star. Although not the first chief to fly fighters, even solo, while in the top job, he is likely the Chief who has flown the most hours and most varied list of aircraft types – certainly in the modern era of complex and demanding flying machines.
Only the second test pilot ever to head the Indian Air Force (the other being ACM Srinivasapuram Krishnaswamy in 2001), Bhadauria is uniquely qualified to stay in touch with the machines his service operates. On taking over, he consciously elected to fly not just fighters like the SEPECAT Jaguar and HAL Tejas LCA he was so intimately familiar with, but a wider range of aircraft. Eschewing the idea of mere joyrides, he completed abridged conversion courses with dual checks on all aircraft he flew as Chief. He qualified on helicopters like the ALH and Mi-17 that often ferry military brass and dignitaries around the country, so he could fly them himself. Likewise, he converted onto the C-130J and VIP Embraer 135, getting stick time whenever he could.
The Air Chief before a Tejas LCA sortie (photo: IAF)
ACM Bhadauria flew the Rafale EH with No. 17 Sqn (photo: IAF)
Of course, he did fly fighters, with his Tejas sorties garnering the most attention over the past two years. He also flew the Bison solo on multiple occasions, as well as the upgraded Mirage 2000I, and even the IAF’s prized new induction, the Rafale EH. In fact, he even put his testing qualifications to work on some occasions – when he flew Jaguars and Su-30MKIs, he specifically chose to fly recently modified aircraft so he could assess system-level changes firsthand. He has also flown prototypes of the indigenous Light Combat Helicopter and HTT-40 trainer with HAL test pilots. On a goodwill visit to Israel in 2021, he joined the Israeli Air Chief Major Gen Amikam Norkin for a sortie in an F-15D Eagle, adding to the list of over 40 different types of aircraft he has flown in his 41-year career.
ACM Bhadauria at the controls of a C-130J (photo: IAF)
ACM Bhadauria flew the LCH at HAL (photo: IAF)
ACM Bhadauria and Gen Norkin taxiing out for a sortie at an Israeli Air Force base (photo: Israeli Air Force)
As ACM Bhadauria prepares to hang up his flying overalls for the last time at the end of this month, Vayu asked him about his ‘hands-on’ approach and the legacy he leaves behind. The Air Chief summarised his personal and professional motivations for Vayu: “Well, flying has been a passion for me and I have never let an opportunity go by for me to jump into the cockpit and get back in the air. Flying during my tenure as the Chief has been particularly rewarding, as it gave me the chance to stay in touch with the ground realities that influence the operational environment, both in terms of aircraft and bases across the IAF. It also enabled me to get a first-hand look at the capabilities and employability of our newly inducted platforms and systems.”
