Ravinder Kumar Dhir


Ravinder Kumar Dhir PVSM,AVSM, VM,ADC is an advisor to Gujarat state for 'Defence and Aerospace Industries'. He was Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, South Western Air Command of the Indian Air Force from 1 June 2015 to 29 September 2018. He took over from Air Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa and was succeeded by Air Marshal Harjit Singh Arora.

Early life and education

Dhir is an alumnus of National Defence Academy, Pune.

Career

Dhir was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on 15 June 1979. He has clocked over 3200 hours of flying on more than 25 different types of aircraft to date. He held several key operational and administrative appointments at various stages of his service including as a project test pilot in the Bison upgrade project in Russia; Commander of the first Bison Squadron "Cobras" at Ambala; Commander of a frontline operational air base; Principal Director Air Staff Requirements at Air HQ; Technical Manager at the Acquisition Wing in Ministry of Defence; Air Defence Commander at South Western Air Command; Senior Air Staff Officer at South Western Air Command and Senior Air Staff Officer at Southern Air Command. He is a Qualified Flying Instructor, an experimental test pilot, Commander of the Air Force Test Pilots School and provided input to the Tejas LCA project at Aeronautical Development Establishment.

Awards and medals

During the 39 years of his career, he has been awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and the Vayu Sena Medal.

Personal life

Dhir is married to Neelam Dhir, an educator, and they have two children.