Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit has assumed charge as the 29th Chief of the Air Staff in New Delhi on Saturday, October 31, 2026. He succeeds Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh, who retired after a career spanning 43 years. Prior to this appointment, Dixit served as the Vice Chief of the Air Staff and played a key role in strategic planning during Operation Sindoor. The transition took place after a ceremonial guard of honour was accorded to the outgoing Air Chief Marshal Singh at the Race Course Air Force Station, where he handed over the baton to his successor.
Born on December 9, 1966, Dixit was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on December 6, 1986. He is a seasoned fighter pilot with more than 3,500 hours of flying experience on over 20 types of aircraft, including the Mirage-2000, MiG variants, Kiran, Jaguar, IL-78, Hawk, and Tejas. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Defence Services Staff College in Bangladesh, and the National Defence College, he is an experimental test pilot and a qualified flying instructor.
Throughout his nearly four-decade-long career, Dixit has held several key commands, staff, and instructional appointments, including serving as the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee, and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Central Air Command. He has also commanded a frontline fighter air base in the Western sector and a premier fighter training base in the Southern sector, while participating in major operations such as Operation Safed Sagar, Operation Rakshak, and Operation Sindoor.
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