NEW DELHI: Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra on Wednesday assumed command of the Indian Air Force’s vital Western Air Command. A fighter jet pilot, Air Marshal Mishra has more than 3,000 hours of flying experience and is also a test pilot.
The Air Marshal was commissioned into the Indian Air Force in December 1986. He is an alumnus of National Defence Academy, Pune, and Air Force Test Pilots School, Bangalore. He went to the Air Command and Staff College, USA, and Royal College of Defence Studies, UK. Air Marshal Mishra succeeds Air Marshal Pankaj Mohan Sinha who superannuated on December 31.
The Western Air Command of the Indian Air Force is the largest and most significant command. It is headquartered at New Delhi and responsible for both fronts Pakistan and China.
Its area of responsibility includes Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh facing China, and on the western front, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and parts of Rajasthan. IAF bases at Chandigarh, New Delhi and Western Uttar Pradesh are also part of the WAC.
The Western Air Command has been involved in all major operations since Independence, including the Kashmir Operation (1947-48), the Sino-Indian Conflict (1962), the Indo-Pak Wars (1965 and 1971), Operation Pawan (1986 in Sri Lanka), Operation Safed Sagar (1999 in Kargil), and Operation Snow Leopard (2020 in Eastern Ladakh).