Air Marshal Tarun Chaudhry, AVSM, VSM assumed the appointment of Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Central Air Command on 1 June 2026. He was commissioned into the Fighter stream of the Indian Air Force (IAF) in December 1989. He is an alumnus of National Defence Academy, Defence Services Staff College, College of Air Warfare and National Defence College.

During his distinguished career, the Air Marshal has held several important operational, staff and diplomatic appointments including defence attache at the Embassy of India in Sweden with concurrent accredition to Norway, Finland and Denmark. He has also undertaken key staff assignments at HQ IDS and Air HQ, specialising in the domains of projects, acquisition and human resource management.

The air marshal has spearheaded several transformative projects aimed at capability enhancement and induction of future technologies in the IAF. Prior to taking charge of Central Air Command, the Air Marshal was holding the appointment of Senior Air Staff Officer, HQ Southern Air Command.

Air Marshal Tarun Chaudhry succeeds Air Marshal Balakrishnan Manikantan PVSM, AVSM, VM, who superannuated on 31 May 26, after 40 years of distinguished service.