Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit appointed next Chief of Air Staff, to take charge on October 31

Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit. PIC/PTI

Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, an accomplished fighter pilot with over 3,500 hours of flying experience on more than 20 types of aircraft, will be the next Chief of Air Staff, succeeding incumbent Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, the Defence Ministry announced on Tuesday.

Dixit, who is known for his strategic planning and played a key role during Operation Sindoor, is currently serving as the Vice Chief of the Air Staff.

The government has appointed Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit as the 29th Chief of the Air Staff with effect from the afternoon of October 31, the ministry said. Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh will superannuate on the same day.

In a distinguished career spanning four decades, Dixit has held a variety of Command, Staff and Instructional appointments.

Born on December 9, 1966, Air Marshal Dixit was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on December 6, 1986.

Before assuming charge as the Vice Chief of the Air Staff, he served as Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC) at Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff.

Four-decade career marked by key operations and upgrades

Prior to that, he served as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Central Air Command.

The Air Marshal is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Defence Staff Service College (Bangladesh) and National Defence College. He has more than 3,500 hours of extensive flying experience on various aircraft, including the Mirage-2000, variants of MiG, Kiran, Jaguar, IL-78, Hawk and Tejas.

He is an experimental test pilot and a qualified flying instructor. During his service career spanning approximately four decades, Air Marshal Dixit has been actively involved in numerous operations and exercises, including Operation-Sated Sagar, Operation-Rakshak and Operation Sindoor.

The Air Marshal has held a number of significant field and staff appointments. He commanded a front-line fighter air base in the Western sector and a premier fighter training base in the Southern sector.

Air Marshal Dixit was involved in several indigenous upgrade and development programmes, including the avionics upgrades for the Jaguar and MiG-27.

The operational capability of the Indian Air Force has improved with the contribution of the Air Officer in various capacities, the ministry said.

He was awarded the Vayu Sena Medal in 2006, Vishisht Seva Medal in 2011, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2023 and Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2026 in recognition of his distinguished services.

(With PTI inputs)