NEW DELHI: Chief Air Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa on Tuesday made a farewell call to President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan, ahead of his retirement.

The Centre on September 19 appointed Air Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria as the next chief of the India Air Force (IAF).

Bhadauria, who is currently Vice Chief of Air Staff, will take over the charge as the Chief of Air Staff after his predecessor and the incumbent IAF chief BS Dhanoa retires on September 30.

In 2017, Dhanoa took over as the 25th Chief of the Air Staff. Singh Dhanoa is a Qualified Cat 'A' Flying Instructor and has more than 3000 hours of fighter flying under his belt with an immaculate flight safety record in his distinguished career as a field commander

He is an alumnus of Rashtriya Indian Military College, the National Defence Academy and the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington.

The Air Chief Marshal is also instrumental in developing the aerial targeting philosophy against the potential adversaries and transformed the concept of Air operations of the Indian Air Force to contemporary war fighting practices of Air Power. He is an avid reader and writer of issues pertaining to airpower and joint operations.

Before taking over as the Chief of the Air Staff, he was the Vice Chief of the Air Staff.