Air Chief Marshal Srinivasapuram Krishnaswamy PVSM, AVSM, VM & Bar, ADC (born January 1943) is a former Air Officer in the Indian Air Force (IAF). He served as the 19th Chief of the Air Staff from 2001 to 2004. He raised the first electronic warfare squadron in the Indian Air Force. He has the rare distinction of having commanded three operational commands of the IAF - the Western, South-Western and Central Air Commands. Early life and education Krishnaswamy was born on 18 January 1943 in Madras. He completed his schooling as well as his college education in the same city. Military career Krishnaswamy was commissioned as a fighter pilot in December 1961. In the early years of his service, he flew the Hawker Hunter, the Folland Gnat and the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, he flew the Gnats and was mentioned in dispatches. Subsequently, he was trained in the United Kingdom to become a test pilot. On his return, he joined the Aircraft and System Training Establishment (ASTE). He qualified as a fighter combat leader and served as a senior directing staff at the premier Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment (TACDE). For his tenure at TACDE, he was awarded the Vayu Sena Medal on 26 January 1978. Krishnaswamy specialised in electronic warfare (EW) and raised and commanded the first EW Squadron of the IAF. The squadron consisted of MiG-21 and English Electric Canberra aircraft. For his stint as Commanding Officer of the squadron, he was awarded the bar to the Vayu Sena Medal on 26 January 1982. He subsequently served as the Deputy Air Advisor to the High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom at India House, London. Promoted to the rank of Group Captain, he served as the Chief Operations Officer of the Maharajpur Air Force Station in Gwalior. Krishnaswamy was promoted to the rank of Air Commodore on 1 September 1988 and took over as the Director of Air Staff requirements at Air headquarters. In January 1990, he took command of the premier base for the Mikoyan MiG-29 and SEPECAT Jaguar maritime aircraft - Lohegaon Air Force Station. After a successful tenure as Air Officer Commanding, he attended the prestigious National Defence College, New Delhi. In February 1993, Krishnaswamy was promoted to the acting rank of Air Vice Marshal and moved to Air HQ taking over as the Assistant Chief of Air Staff