Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit to Become 29th Chief of the Indian Air Force

The Ministry of Defence has announced that Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, PVSM, AVSM, VM, VSM, who currently serves as the Vice Chief of Air Staff, will be the 29th Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) of the Indian Air Force. He will assume the office of Air Chief Marshal on October 31, 2026. The current Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, is scheduled to retire on the same day, October 31, 2026.

Born on December 9, 1966, Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on December 6, 1986. Prior to becoming the Vice Chief of Air Staff, he has served as the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CISC) to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee at the Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS), and as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Central Air Command.

Air Marshal Dixit is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, the Defence Staff Service College (Bangladesh), and the National Defence College. He possesses over 3,500 hours of flying experience on various aircraft, including the Mirage-2000, various versions of the MiG, Kiran, Jaguar, IL-78, Hawk, and Tejas. He is also a qualified flying instructor and an experimental test pilot.

Throughout his nearly four decades of service, he has played an active role in several significant military exercises and operations, including Operation Sated Sagar, Operation Rakshak, and Operation Sindur. He has also commanded a frontline fighter air force station in the Western sector and a major fighter training station in the Southern sector.

For his distinguished service, he was awarded the Vayu Sena Medal in 2006, the Vishisht Seva Medal in 2011, the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2023, and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2026.