NEW DELHI: Air Marshal Inderpal Singh Walia has been appointed Indian Air Force (IAF) vice-chief and will take charge from Sunday. Currently, he is the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Air Command.Air Marshal Walia takes over as Vice Chief of the Air Staff from Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, who will become 29th IAF chief on Saturday.In a career spanning almost four decades, the Air Officer has tenanted various command and staff appointments. He has commanded a frontline fighter squadron, the Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment (TACDE) and was Air Officer Commanding of Air Force Station, Bareilly. He has flown various fighter aircraft of the IAF, including variants of the MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-27, Jaguar and Su-30 MKI.The air officer is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and was commissioned in the fighter stream of the IAF on June 11, 1988. He has undergone the Advanced Command & Staff Course in the UK and NDC in Bangladesh. He headed Directorate of Air Staff Inspection (DASI) of the IAF, served as a defence attache at the embassy of Japan and South Korea, and was the Senior Air Staff Officer of the Eastern Air Command.He is an avid reader and holds three postgraduate degrees in defence and strategic studies. In recognition of distinguished service, he was awarded the Vayu Sena Medal (VM) in 2008 and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) in 2018.