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Air Marshal Manish Khanna assumed the charge of the Southern Air Command on Sunday. Commissioned in the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on 6 December 1986, Air Marshal Khanna is an officer with over 4,000 hours of flying experience on various fighter and trainer aircraft.   

 

"Air Marshal Manish Khanna Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM), Vayu Sena Medal (VM), assumed command of the Southern Air Command (SAC) as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief on June 1, 2025 at Thiruvananthapuram," said an official statement. 

 

Air Marshal Khanna is a category 'A' Qualified Flying Instructor and an alumnus of the National Defence Academy (NDA), Defence Services Staff College, College of Air Warfare, and National Defence College. Apart from his rich operational experience in air defence, ground attack, strategic reconnaissance, and electronic warfare, Air Marshal Khanna has a wide-ranging experience in the training domain, including an international assignment as the Chief Flying Instructor with the Botswana Defence Forces, it added.  

Air Marshal Manish Khanna took over as AOC-in-C of Southern Air Command , #Trivandrum on June 1, 2025. Upon taking over, he inspected a ceremonial Guard of Honour at HQ SAC. Commissioned in the fighter stream of IAF on December 6, 1986, Air Marshal Khanna has over 4,000 hours of… pic.twitter.com/VqphumRMrD

— PRO Defence Trivandrum (@DefencePROTvm) June 1, 2025

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In his illustrious career spanning almost four decades, he has served as commanding officer of the fighter squadron, air crew examining board, a major flying base, advance headquarters, the Western Air Command, and Commandant at the College of Air Warfare (CAW) among others. The air marshal was a Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) at South Western Command (SWAC) before taking over the present appointment.  

 

In another announcement, the defence ministry on Sunday said Air Marshal Jasvir Singh Mann took over as Senior Air Staff Officer of the IAF's Western Air Command (WAC) on 1 June. The air marshal is an alumni of the National Defence Academy and was commissioned as a fighter pilot in the IAF on 16 December 1989, it said in a statement. 

 

He has flown over 3,000 hours primarily on various types of fighter aircraft. He is a pilot attack instructor and in his operational career, he has commanded a fighter squadron, been Chief Operations Officer of a forward base, and Air Officer Commanding of a premium fighter base, the ministry said.