Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, PVSM, AVSM, VM, VSM, assumed charge as the 29th Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force on October 31, 2026. He succeeded Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh (AP Singh), PVSM, AVSM, who superannuated on the same day after 42 years of distinguished service to the nation.
The transition followed a ceremonial Guard of Honour accorded to the outgoing Chief at Air Force Station, Race Course, New Delhi. Air Chief Marshal AP Singh had earlier laid a wreath at the National War Memorial as part of the formal farewell proceedings. The handover of command took place in New Delhi on the afternoon of October 31.
Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit was born on December 9, 1966, and was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on December 6, 1986. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, the Defence Services Command and Staff College (Bangladesh), and the National Defence College, New Delhi, he is an accomplished fighter pilot, Qualified Flying Instructor, and Experimental Test Pilot. He has logged more than 3,500 hours of flying experience on a wide range of aircraft, including the Mirage-2000, various MiG variants, Jaguar, Tejas, Hawk, Kiran, and IL-78.
Over a career spanning four decades, he has held diverse command, staff, and instructional appointments across operations, flight testing, capability development, and joint staff roles. His operational command assignments include a Mirage-2000 squadron, a Forward Base Support Unit in the Western Sector, and Air Force Station Bidar.
He has served as Air Defence Commander at Southern Air Command, Senior Air Staff Officer at South Western Air Command, and Deputy Chief of the Air Staff. He later commanded Central Air Command as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief and served as Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC) during Operation Sindoor, before assuming charge as Vice Chief of the Air Staff on July 1, 2026.
He has been actively involved in operations and exercises including Operation Safed Sagar (during the Kargil conflict), Operation Rakshak, Cope India, and Operation Sindoor. Widely recognised for his contributions to the modernisation of the IAF, he was instrumental in finalising the Jaguar and MiG-27 upgrade projects and in the completion of the Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) and Final Operational Clearance (FOC) of the LCA Mk-I Tejas. He is regarded as a strong advocate of Aatmanirbharta (self-reliance) in the defence sector.
The Government of India had appointed him as the next Chief of the Air Staff, in the rank of Air Chief Marshal, with effect from the afternoon of October 31, 2026. His tenure is scheduled to run until December 31, 2028. He is a recipient of the Vayu Sena Medal (2006), Vishisht Seva Medal (2011), Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (2023), and Param Vishisht Seva Medal (2026).
Air Chief Marshal Dixit takes over at a time when the Indian Air Force continues to focus on operational readiness, induction of modern platforms (including the Tejas Mk-1A), and further progress on indigenous capability development. His extensive experience in operations, flight testing, and tri-service integration is expected to guide the force’s modernisation trajectory in the coming years.
