Ahmedabad: Air Marshal P V Shivanand on Wednesday assumed charge as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the South Western Air Command (SWAC), one of the Indian Air Force’s key operational commands responsible for air defence in the country’s western region, stated a release by the defence PRO.Commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force in Dec 1988, Shivanand succeeded in the new role after serving as the Senior Air Staff Officer at the Central Air Command headquarters.A fighter pilot with over 2,700 hours of accident-free flying, he has experience flying MiG-21 fighter aircraft. During his career, he also qualified as a pilot attack instructor, fighter combat leader and qualified flying instructor, training several generations of fighter pilots.He has commanded No. 32 Squadron at Jodhpur and No. 50 Squadron at Agra, which operates the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft.Shivanand has also served as India’s Air Attache in Washington, representing the Indian Air Force in the United States, and has held several senior operational appointments at Air Headquarters in New Delhi.He was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, one of the country’s highest peacetime military honours, in 2025. Earlier, he received the Vayu Sena Medal in 2014 for his contribution to strengthening the Indian Air Force’s airborne surveillance and operational capabilities.
