Jasjit Singh (IAF officer)

Air Commodore Jasjit Singh, AVSM, VrC, VM (8 July 1934 – August 4, 2013) was an Indian Air Force officer, writer and military strategist. In his military career, he was awarded the Vir Chakra during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. He last served as the Director of Operations of the IAF.

He later headed the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses from 1987 to 2001 as its Director. In 2001, he founded the think tank Centre for Air Power Studies in New Delhi and served as its Director General till his death in 2013.

Military career
Singh was born on 8 July 1934. He was commissioned into the Indian Air Force on 1 April 1956. Selected into the fighter stream of the IAF, he trained as a fighter pilot. In the early years of his career, he served as a Flight Commander in an operational Squadron in the Eastern Sector in 1961-62. He later served as a flying instructor at the Flying Instructors School at Tambaram Air Force Station. He attended the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington in 1968.

Vir Chakra
During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, Singh was a part of No. 3 Squadron IAF. He was awarded the Vir Chakra for gallantry. The citation for the Vir Chakra reads as follows:

Post-war career
On 20 January 1975, Singh was appointed commanding officer of No. 17 Squadron IAF. After over two years in command of the squadron, he was promoted to the rank of Group Captain and moved to Air headquarters as the Director (Flight Safety). He subsequently served as the Director (Offensive Operations), and as Director (Air Induction), both at Air HQ.

Post-retirement
Singh founded the Air Force think tank, Centre for Air Power Studies, and also remained longest continuously serving director of Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) from 1987 to 2001.

In 2006, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan by Government of India.