December 1, 2015: Air Marshal Harjit Singh Arora took over as Director General (Inspection and Safety) at Air Headquarters, today.

Air Marshal Arora was commissioned in the Indian Air Force as a fighter pilot in Dec 1981. He has over 2600 hours of operational flying on MiG 21, MiG 29 and other variants of aircraft in IAF inventory, including helicopters. He has served as Directing Staff at ‘Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment’ (TACDE) and as a Flying Inspector in the ‘Directorate of Air Staff Inspection’ (DASI). He was deputed as Defence Attaché in the Embassy of India, Bangkok, Thailand from 2006 to 2009.

He commanded 45 Squadron – ‘The Flying Daggers’ – as a Wing Commander and as a Group Captain he was Commander of Air Defence Direction Centre and Station Commander of a Signal Unit based at Jodhpur. As an Air Commodore he commanded Air Force Station Adampur in Punjab and as an Air Vice Marshal he was Air Defence Commander at Headquarters of Western Air Command as well as Eastern Air Command.

He is a meritorious graduate of Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment, Defence Services Staff College and the National Defence College. He is also Master of Philosophy in Defence and Strategic Studies.

In recognition of his meritorious service, he was commended by the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief in 1997 and was awarded Ati Vishist Seva Medal on 26 Jan 2011 by the President of India.

He is married to Mrs Baljeet Arora and have two sons. His interests include reading, music and travelling.

Photo Credit: PRO (Air Force)