NEW DELHI (PTI): Air Marshal NJS Dhillon has taken charge as the new Commander-in-Chief of the Strategic Forces Command (SFC), which looks after nuclear arsenal of the country, officials said Monday.

He succeeds Air Marshal J S Walia.

April 1 was the first working day for Dhillon though he took charge of SFC on Sunday.

Prior to taking over as Commander-in-Chief of SFC, he was Senior Air Staff Officer, Headquarter, Western Air Command.

He has the distinction of serving as the longest Senior Air Staff Officer of Western Air Command in the last four decades.

For his distinguished services, he was awarded 'Ati Vishisht Seva Medal' by the President in 2013. He was commissioned as a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force on December 11, 1981.

The responsibility of the SFC is to operationalise the directives of the Nuclear Command Authority (NCA).

The SFC has the sole responsibility of initiating the process of delivering nuclear weapons and warheads after acquiring explicit approval from NCA.