New Delhi: The government has appointed Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, the current vice-chief of the air staff (VCAS) , the 29th chief of the air staff, with effect from the afternoon of October 31, when he will assume office in the rank of Air Chief Marshal. He will take over the Indian Air Force’s top appointment from Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, who superannuates the same day.
Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit an experimental test pilot and qualified flying instructor with more than 3,500 hours of flying experience. His career spans fighter operations, test-flying, training, operational commands, senior Air Headquarters appointments and triservice responsibilities.
Who is Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit?
Born on December 9, 1966, AM Ashutosh 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, Defence Services Staff College in Bangladesh and National Defence College.
His flying experience covers fighter, trainer and transport aircraft, including the Mirage 2000, MiG variants, Jaguar, Tejas, Hawk, IL-78, An-32, Avro, Kiran and HPT-32. Besides qualifying as an experimental test pilot and flying instructor, he served as directing staff at the Air Force Test Pilots School.
As a test pilot and later commanding officer of the Flight Test Squadron at the Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE) in Bengaluru, he was involved in indigenous upgrade and development programmes, including avionics upgrades for the Jaguar and MiG-27. As director of air staff requirements, he was also involved in planning and conducting the medium multi-role combat aircraft trials.
His operational record includes participation in Operation Safed Sagar, Operation Rakshak, Cope India and Operation Sindoor.
AM Dixit commanded No 9 Squadron and oversaw its re-equipment with the Mirage 2000. He subsequently commanded a frontline fighter airbase in the western sector and a premier fighter-training base in the southern sector.
His senior staff appointments at Air Headquarters have included principal director air staff requirement, assistant chief of the air staff (Projects), assistant chief of the air staff (Plans) and deputy chief of the air staff. He has also served as air-defence commander at Southern Air Command and senior air staff officer at South Western Air Command.
He took over as the air officer commanding in chief (AOC-in-C) of Central Air Command on September 1, 2024, where his responsibilities included operational readiness and coordination with the other services across the northern and central regions.
He subsequently moved to headquarters Integrated defence staff as chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the chairman, chiefs of staff committee. The triservice appointment gave him direct exposure to joint planning and integration before he assumed charge as vice-chief of the air staff on July 1, 2026.
He 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 transition from vice-chief to the Air Force’s top appointment brings together fighter flying and experimental test experience with squadron and airbase command, senior Air Headquarters assignments, command-level responsibilities and triservice exposure.