By A Correspondent

(Editor’s Note: Updated, with service record from paragraph three.)

New Delhi: The Indian government, on Tuesday (October 6, 2026), appointed an experimental test pilot and current vice chief of air staff, Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, as the 29th Indian Air Force (IAF) chief, in the rank of Air Chief Marshal, with effect from the afternoon of October 31, 2026. He will succeed the ,serving IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, who superannuates the same day Air Marshal Dixit takes over his new appointment.

A government announcement on the ‘X’ microblogging site said Dixit, who has been conferred with distinguished service medals, is “an Experimental Test Pilot and Qualified Flying Instructor with over 3,500 hours of flying experience.” Dixit has held key operational and strategic appointments, including as the Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff Headquarters in New Delhi and IAF’s Central Air Command’s Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, the post read.

Dixit is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Defence Staff Service College in Bangladesh and the National Defence College. He has more than 3,500 hours of flying experience on several aircraft, including the Mirage-2000, MiG variants, Jaguar, Tejas, Hawk, Kiran, An-32 and IL-78. He is a qualified flying instructor and an experimental test pilot. During the early part of his career, Dixit served as an instructor at the Air Force Test Pilots School and later took command of a fighter squadron.

In December 2003, Dixit took over a fighter squadron that was being re-equipped with Mirage-2000 aircraft. He oversaw the re-equipping process and ensured that the squadron began full-fledged flying operations soon after the aircraft arrived. He also led the acceptance flights and ferrying of 10 new Mirage-2000 aircraft from France to India. Dixit later served with the Flight Test Squadron, where he was involved in the indigenous upgrade programmes for Jaguar and MiG-27 aircraft. His work on the programmes helped enhance the operational capabilities of the aircraft.

He subsequently played a key role in the Indian Air Force’s evaluation of aircraft under the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) programme. He led technical evaluations and field trials involving six competing aircraft, with the trials covering aircraft performance, radar, electronic warfare systems and weapons. Over the course of his career, Dixit held several important operational and staff positions. He commanded a frontline fighter base in the Western Sector and a fighter training base in the Southern Sector. He also served as air defence commander of Southern Air Command and held senior positions at Air Headquarters, including assistant chief of the air staff (projects), assistant chief of the air staff (plans) and deputy chief of the air staff.

Before becoming vice chief of the air staff, Dixit served as air officer commanding-in-chief of Central Air Command and later as chief of integrated defence staff to the chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee. In his tri-service role as chief of integrated defence staff, Dixit focused on strengthening jointness and integration among the armed forces. During his tenure, several joint doctrines and orders were released, along with initiatives aimed at improving coordination among the three services.

Dixit took over as vice chief of the air staff on July 1. During his career, he has been associated with major operations and exercises, including Operation Safed Sagar during the 1999 Kargil War, Operation Rakshak, the Cope India air exercise, and the May 2025 Operation Sindoor, when IAF jets hit several Pakistani air bases to avenge the April 2025. Pahalgam terror strikes. For his service, Dixit 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.

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