New Delhi. Air Marshal Vikram Gaur’s appointment marks a first for the Indian Air Force (IAF) in the Department of Military Affairs (DMA), placing an air force officer in a senior role at the defence ministry department responsible for advancing coordination among India’s armed services.
Gaur, who holds the service decorations AVSM and VSM, was serving as Joint Secretary (Air and Staff Duties) in the DMA. He moved into the department in October 2024 and was promoted to Air Marshal in July 2026.
His career includes more than 3,200 flying hours on fighter aircraft, including the Su-30MKI, as well as command, operational and staff roles. He is qualified as a flying instructor and as an instrument-rating instructor and examiner.
Gaur was commissioned into the IAF’s Flying Branch on December 15, 1990, after graduating from the National Defence Academy, the report said. As a Wing Commander, he commanded No 20 Squadron, a frontline Su-30MKI unit based in Pune, between November 2008 and December 2010. His subsequent postings included service as India’s air attaché in Kabul from 2015 to 2018, and Air Officer Commanding of No 40 Wing at Maharajpur, Gwalior.
He also served at Air Headquarters in staff roles that included Air Staff Requirements and C4ISR-command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. From December 2023 to October 2024, as an Air Vice Marshal, he was Air Officer Commanding for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. His awards include the Vishisht Seva Medal in 2013 and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2021; he also received a Chief of the Air Staff Commendation in 2003 and took part in Operation Safed Sagar.
The DMA was created in 2020, with the Chief of Defence Staff serving as its Secretary. The government said the department was established to support more efficient use of resources and promote “jointness” among the Army, Navy and Air Force. Its assigned responsibilities include service-related matters, integrated headquarters and joint planning for procurement, training and staffing. It is also tasked with facilitating military-command restructuring to improve operational integration, including through potential joint or theatre commands.
Gaur’s elevation therefore places an officer with extensive flying and air-command experience in a department whose remit includes coordination across all three services. The appointment also follows his own experience inside the DMA, where he had been responsible for Air and Staff Duties as a joint secretary. He is the first IAF officer appointed to the Additional Secretary post.
The role sits within a broader effort to bring military expertise into the department’s senior structure. Uniformed officers had been formally appointed to senior DMA posts, including an Army officer as Additional Secretary, alongside Army, Navy and Air Force joint secretaries. Formal appointments allowed officers to handle files within delegated authority rather than sending every decision to the department secretary.
Details do not specify the effective date of Gaur’s appointment or outline any immediate changes to the department’s work. His new post, however, gives the IAF its first representation at this level of the DMA, as the department continues to pursue closer coordination in planning and administration across the services.
