Air Chief-designate Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit called on Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on October 7, 2026, a day after the government announced his appointment as the next Chief of the Air Staff.
During the meeting, the Defence Minister congratulated Air Marshal Dixit on his appointment and conveyed his best wishes for a successful tenure at the helm of the Indian Air Force.
The government on October 6 appointed Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, PVSM, AVSM, VM, VSM, as the 29th Chief of the Air Staff. He will assume the rank of Air Chief Marshal and take over as the IAF chief from the afternoon of October 31, 2026. He will succeed Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, who is scheduled to superannuate on the same day.
Air Marshal Dixit is currently serving as the Vice Chief of the Air Staff, a position he assumed on July 1, 2026. Born on December 9, 1966, he was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on December 6, 1986 and has completed nearly four decades of military service.
An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Defence Services Command and Staff College in Bangladesh and the National Defence College, Air Marshal Dixit is an Experimental Test Pilot and a Qualified Flying Instructor. He has accumulated more than 3,500 hours of flying experience across a wide range of aircraft, including the Mirage 2000, MiG variants, Jaguar, Hawk, Tejas, Kiran and IL-78.
During his operational career, he has participated in several major operations and exercises, including Operation Safed Sagar, Operation Rakshak, Cope India and Operation Sindoor. He also re-equipped No. 9 Squadron with the Mirage 2000 while serving as its Commanding Officer.
Air Marshal Dixit has held several key command and staff appointments during his career. He commanded 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, Principal Director Air Staff Requirement, 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 South Western Air Command and Deputy Chief of Air Staff.
Before becoming Vice Chief of the Air Staff, he served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Central Air Command and later as Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee at Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff. In the tri-services appointment, he was involved in initiatives aimed at strengthening jointness and integration among the Armed Forces.
For his distinguished service, Air Marshal Dixit has been 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.
His meeting with the Defence Minister comes as he prepares to take charge of the Indian Air Force at the end of October, succeeding Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh as the service’s 29th Chief.
