New Delhi: Army Chief General MM Naravane has been named chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, which includes the three service chiefs, according to persons familiar with the matter.

Following the death of Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat in an IAF helicopter crash on December 8, the post became vacant. According to the people cited above, General MM Naravane has been appointed as the committee's head since he is the most senior of the three military chiefs.

On September 30 and November 30, respectively, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari and Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar assumed their respective posts. Prior to the formation of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), the chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee was the senior-most of the three service chiefs.

The Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC) convened on Tuesday to express their condolences for the deaths of General Rawat, his wife Madhulika, and 11 members of the armed services.

The lone survivor of the crash, Group Captain Varun Singh, succumbed of his injuries on Wednesday (December 15) in a military hospital in Bengaluru. Meanwhile, General Naravane spoke over the phone with the Commander of the Royal Saudi Armed Forces, Lt Gen Fahd bin Abdullah Al-Mutair.

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