Ashutosh Dixit appointed next Chief of the Air Staff
The serving Vice Chief will take charge on October 31 as India’s 29th air chief. A test pilot and flying instructor, Dixit brings nearly four decades of service and more
Commissioned into the IAF’s fighter stream on December 6, 1986, Dixit has served for nearly four decades.
NEW DELHI: The government has appointed Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit as the next Chief of the Air Staff, effective from the afternoon of October 31, 2026. He will assume office in the rank of Air Chief Marshal as the Indian Air Force’s 29th chief.
The appointment was announced in a government statement issued on Tuesday, October 6. Dixit, currently Vice Chief of the Air Staff, will succeed Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, who retires on October 31.
Commissioned into the IAF’s fighter stream on December 6, 1986, Dixit has served for nearly four decades. His previous appointments include Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee, and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Central Air Command.
An experimental test pilot and qualified flying instructor, he has logged more than 3,500 flying hours on aircraft including the Mirage-2000, MiG variants, Kiran, Jaguar, IL-78, Hawk and Tejas.
His operational experience includes involvement in Operation Safed Sagar, Operation Rakshak and Operation Sindoor. He has also commanded a frontline fighter air base in the western sector and a fighter training base in the southern sector.
Dixit is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, the Defence Services Command and Staff College in Bangladesh, and the National Defence College.
He received the Vayu Sena Medal in 2006, Vishisht Seva Medal in 2011, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2023 and Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2026.
