New Delhi, June 1 : Air Marshal NAK Browne assumed the charge of Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Air Command, the largest and the senior most operational command of the Indian Air Force, today.

Commissioned into the fighter stream of Indian Air Force on June 24, 1972, he has varied operational experience and has flown aircraft that include Hunter, all variants of MiG-21s, Jaguar and SU-30MKI.

An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, he is a fighter combat leader, who has also served an instructor at the Tactics and Combat Development Establishment
(TACDE) and Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), Wellington.

He has trained with the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom on Jaguar aircraft and commanded a Jaguar Squadron subsequently.

A graduate of Air Command and Staff College USA, he has held many appointments that include Joint Director at Air War Strategy Cell at Air Headquarters, Chief Operations Officer and Air Officer Commanding of the SU-30 Base, Air-I at Western Air Command and Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Intelligence) at Air Headquarters.

He was also responsible for establishing the Indian Defence Wing in Tel Aviv, Israel in April 1997 where he served as the Defence Attaché till July 2000.

On March 5, 2007, the Air Officer was promoted to the rank of Air Marshal and was appointed the Deputy Chief of Air Staff responsible for IAF''s major modernization programmes. (ANI)