Moscow [Russia], October 21: Colonel General Viktor Afzalov has become the new commander-in-chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces (RAF), replacing Army General Sergei Surovikin, local media reported Saturday.
Afzalov, who was previously acting commander-in-chief of RAF, was born on June 9, 1968. He graduated from the Pushkin Higher Military School of Radio Electronics of Air Defense in 1989, the Military University of Air Defense in 2000, and the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in 2010.
He became the commander of the Air Force and Air Defense Army of the Eastern Military District in July 2017 and the chief of staff of RAF in August 2018.
Surovikin, Afzalov's predecessor, was appointed as head of the Coordinating Committee for Air Defense under the Council of Defense Ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States in September this year.
Source: Xinhua