Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit appointed vice-chief of Indian Air Force
Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit. (Photo HQ IDS)
New Delhi: The government has appointed Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit the next vice-chief of the air staff (VCAS) of the Indian Air Force, the Ministry of Defence announced on Thursday. AM Dixit, currently serving as the chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CISC) at headquarters integrated defence staff, will assume his new charge on July 1.
The VCAS is the second-highest-ranking officer of the Air Force, and the most senior among the principal staff officers to the chief of the air staff at the Air Force Headquarters in New Delhi. The appointment of an officer of Dixit’s stature – a combat veteran, experimental test pilot, and a leading architect of India’s theaterization effort – underscores the Air Force’s intent to place proven operational and institutional experience at the helm of its administrative and policy machinery.
The defence ministry, in a statement, said AM Dixit has played a key role in enhancing jointness in the defence forces as India moves towards theaterization. As CISC, he has been at the centre of the most consequential structural reform in the military since Independence – the reorganization of the three services into integrated theatre commands. His transition from that joint-services role to the vice-chiefship of the Air Force signals a deliberate effort to bring that cross-service perspective into the Air Force’s own institutional leadership.
His appointment comes at a time when the Indian Air Force is focusing on capability enhancement, indigenous development, and greater inter-service coordination. The Air Force faces a demanding near-term agenda: inducting the Tejas-Mk1A in meaningful numbers, advancing the Tejas-Mk2 programme, keeping the AMCA (advanced medium combat aircraft) project on track, and managing a fighter fleet in transition. AM Dixit’s familiarity with all three threads – theaterization, modernization, and indigenous development – makes him a pointed choice for the role.
Profile: Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit
AM 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 in Pune, and has also attended the Defence Services Staff College in Bangladesh and the National Defence College in New Delhi.
He is an experimental test pilot and qualified flying instructor with more than 3,300 hours of flying experience on a variety of aircraft, and has participated in Operation Rakshak and Operation Safed Sagar during the Kargil War. The latter, the Air Force’s aerial campaign to support the Army in flushing out Pakistani intruders from the heights of the Kargil sector in 1999, remains one of the most technically demanding operations the Air Force has conducted. That Dixit flew in both that campaign and the counterinsurgency operations in Jammu & Kashmir gives him a depth of combat exposure that few officers at his level can claim.
As a qualified flying instructor and experimental test pilot, he has logged experience on over 20 types of aircraft, including the Mirage 2000, MiG-21, and Jaguar. As a commanding officer, he re-equipped one of the Air Force’s squadrons with the Mirage aircraft, and later commanded a front-line fighter air base in the western sector and a premier fighter training base in the southern sector – the latter being adjudged the best in the command under his leadership.
As commanding officer of the Flight Test Squadron at the Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment in Bengaluru, he was involved in several indigenous upgrade and development programmes, including avionics upgrades for the Jaguar and MiG-27. In his role as director of air staff requirements, he played a key role in the planning and conduct of the MMRCA (medium multi-role combat aircraft) trials – the protracted procurement contest that eventually culminated in India’s acquisition of the Rafale.
As deputy chief of the air staff, AM Dixit played a critical role in advancing the Atmanirbharta initiative within the Air Force. A number of indigenous aircraft projects – including the Tejas-Mk1A, Tejas-Mk2, and AMCA – saw significant forward movement during his tenure in that role.
He has also held the appointments of air-defence commander of Southern Air Command and assistant chief of the air staff (projects) and assistant chief of the air staff (plans) at the Air Headquarters. He assumed command of the Central Air Command on September 1, 2024, before taking over as CISC on May 1, 2025.
AM Dixit’s decorations include the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, the Vayu Sena Medal, and the Vishisht Seva Medal – a clutch of gallantry and distinguished service awards that reflects both his operational record and his institutional contributions.
The outgoing incumbent in the vice-chief’s role, Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor, has held the position since January 1, 2026. The formal handover on July 1 will bring to the vice-chiefship an officer whose career has moved fluidly between the cockpit, the test flight line, the policy division, and the joint-services headquarters – a combination that the Air Force, at this particular juncture in its modernization trajectory, would consider a considerable asset.
