Thread by @misterzedpk

NEW: For @CSCR_pk, I profile Air Marshal Ravi Gopal Krishana Kapoor, the 13th Commander-in-Chief of India's Strategic Forces Command.
#India #military #defence #nuclear #leadership #profile
cscr.pk/explore/themes…

Noteworthy extracts:-

"Ravindra’s appointment was a rather hushed affair in the mainstream media, with a timid announcement and brief mention in a Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) newsletter from earlier this year".

"As Air Commodore, Ravi was the AOC of 9 Wing, Halwara, Punjab... It has served as a frontline base for offensive operations against Pak, including the Kargil War. Ravi’s tenure saw the resurrection of 220 Squadron (Desert Tigers) with the induction of Su-30MKI aircraft."

After this assignment, "..he was appointed Air Attaché at the Embassy of India in the US (2015), a year which was widely described as “transformative” for Indo-US relations".

"Upon promotion to Air Vice Marshal rank, Ravi served as Commodore Commandant of No 15 Squadron (Flying Lancers) headquartered in Sirsa, Haryana, before moving to Air Headquarters in New Delhi as Assistant Chief of Air Staff Operations (Space)."

"It was also during this tenure that India provoked a conflict in early 2019 (with Pak)...Ravi held a press conference a day before Abhinandan’s release and claimed that the Pakistan Air Force F-16 jet was downed by them, a claim proven false by US authorities."

"In June 2019, Ravi was shuffled within Air Headquarters to Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Intelligence) for two years..."

"As far as known operational and command experience is concerned, Air Marshal Ravi Gopal Krishana Kapoor served mostly in the western sector, overlooking Pakistan."

"At CAC, Ravi was also overall supervisor of Gwalior/Maharajpur and Gorakhpur Air Force Stations, believed to have squadrons authorised for nuclear strike missions, per a report by Harvard Belfer Centre."

In view of BrahMos firing incident into Pak, "reverting control of the SFC to IAF (within a brief period of Vice Admiral Ravindra’s headship) leads to speculation that coordination and procedural issues may be thoroughly probed for mismanagement."

"Like his predecessors, Air Marshal Ravi Gopal Krishana Kapoor will report directly to India’s (infamous) National Security Adviser Ajit Doval..."