New Delhi: The Central government on Tuesday cleared the appointment of Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit as the next Chief of the Air Staff. Ashutosh Dixit will take charge as the nation’s 29th Indian Air Force Chief on October 31, with his tenure lasting until December 31, 2028.
Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit is presently serving as Vice Chief of the Air Staff.
“With the approval of the President, Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, PVSM, AVSM, VM, VSM has been appointed as the next Chief of the Air Staff in the substantive rank of Air Chief Marshal, with effect from the afternoon of 31st October, 2026, with a tenure up to 31st December, 2028,” said a government notification.
Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit will succeed incumbent Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, who superannuates on October 31, 2026.
Air Marshal Dixit is a qualified flying instructor with over 3,500 hours of flying experience and has held key operational and strategic appointments, including CISC, HQ IDS and AOC-in-C, Central Air Command.
Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit is an alumnus of National Defence Academy, Defence Staff Service College (Bangladesh) and National Defence College. He has more than 3500 hours of extensive flying experience on various aircraft, including, to name a few, Mirage-2000, variants of MiG, Kiran, Jaguar, IL-78, HAWK and Tejas.
During his illustrious career spanning approximately four decades, he has been actively involved in numerous operations and exercises, including Op-Sated Sagar, Op-Rakshak and Op Sindoor.
He has held a number of significant field and staff appointments. He commanded a front-line fighter air base in Western Sector and a premier fighter training base in Southern Sector.
He was 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 in recognition of his exemplary and distinguished service.
He was commissioned into the fighter stream of IAF on 06 December 1986 and is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy.
Prior to assuming charge as the Vice Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Dixit has served as Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC) at Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS) and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Central Air Command.
Dixit, having seen the induction and advancement of indigenous LCA Tejas and other aircraft programmes closely, is set to steer the government’s Aatmanirbharta push in defence.
(IANS)
