The Government has appointed Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, currently Vice Chief of the Air Staff, as the 29th Chief of the Air Staff with the rank of Air Chief Marshal. He will assume charge on the afternoon of October 31, 2026, succeeding Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, who superannuates the same day.
Air Marshal Dixit, who holds the PVSM, AVSM, VM and VSM, is an Experimental Test Pilot and a Qualified Flying Instructor with more than 3,500 hours in the cockpit.
Four decades in the fighter stream
Dixit was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on December 6, 1986. He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, the Defence Services Staff College in Bangladesh and the National Defence College.
His flying record spans a wide range of aircraft, including the Mirage-2000, several variants of the MiG, HPT-32, An-32, Avro, Kiran, Jaguar, IL-78, Hawk and Tejas. Over a career of roughly 40 years, he has taken part in numerous operations and exercises, among them Operation Safed Sagar, Operation Rakshak, Cope India and Operation Sindoor.
Command and staff roles
As a commanding officer, Dixit re-equipped No. 9 Squadron with the Mirage-2000. He later headed a frontline fighter air base in the Western Sector and a premier fighter training base in the Southern Sector. He has also served as Directing Staff at the Air Force Test Pilots School and as Principal Director, Air Staff Requirement, at Air Headquarters.
His other appointments include Air Defence Commander of Southern Air Command, Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Projects), Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Plans), Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters South Western Air Command, and Deputy Chief of the Air Staff at Air Headquarters (Vayu Bhawan).
Tri-services leadership
Before becoming Vice Chief, Dixit was Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Central Air Command and then Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC), at Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff. In that tri-services role, he pushed for greater jointness and integration, and multiple joint doctrines and orders were released during his tenure, along with initiatives aimed at strengthening the armed forces across all domains.
For his service, he received the Vayu Sena Medal in 2006, the Vishisht Seva Medal in 2011, the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2023 and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2026.
Dixit took over as Vice Chief of the Air Staff from Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor, who retired on June 30, 2026, after 40 years of service.