Air Marshal Fali Homi Major, a helicopter pilot, will take over as the 21st Chief of Air Staff (CAS) on March 31. He succeeds Air Chief Marshal Shashindra Pal Tyagi who retires that day.

Currently Eastern Air Commander in Shillong, Air Marshal Major will be the first Indian Air Chief who is not a fighter pilot. His appointment ends months of suspense over whether the government would overlook his seniority and appoint a fighter pilot junior to him instead. Since 1947, all chiefs of the IAF have been fighter pilots, though there are no government rules that make such a restriction compulsory.

Air Marshal Major will spend a little over two years as Chief of Air Staff—he retires on May 29, 2009. For starters, his tenure will see the country begin its largest ever military procurement of 126 fighter aircraft to battle dwindling squadron numbers. Later this year, he will also preside over the induction of the IAF’s first ever Israeli-built Phalcon AWACS jets, aircraft that will prove to be huge force multipliers across the spectrum of airborne operations.

In his own field of expertise, his tenure will see the induction of new-generation medium lift helicopters and high-altitude attack choppers.

The challenges he faces include continuing to stem the tide of resignations by officers looking to enter the far more lucrative world of civil aviation, structuring the air force for a much-needed space profile and maintaining the improved flight safety profile of the service.