Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit takes charge as new Chief of Air Staff

Outgoing Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh hands over the command of Indian Air Force (IAF) to Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, in New Delhi on October 31, 2026 | Photo Credit: ANI Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, an accomplished fighter pilot with over 3,500 hours of flying experience on over 20 types of aircraft, on Saturday (October 31, 2026) assumed charge as the new Chief of Air Staff.He succeeded Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh who superannuated from the force after a 43-year-long illustrious career.The IAF accorded a ceremonial guard of honour to Air Chief Marshal Singh at the Race Course Air Force Station before he handed over the baton to Mr. Dixit.Air Chief Marshal Dixit, known for his strategic planning and who played a key role during Operation Sindoor, was serving as the Vice Chief of the force.In a distinguished career spanning four decades, Air Chief Marshal Dixit has held a variety of Command, Staff and Instructional appointments.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 assuming charge as the Vice Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Dixit served as Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC) at Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff.Before that, he served as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Central Air Command.The Air Marshal is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Defence Staff Service College (Bangladesh), and the National Defence College.He has more than 3,500 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.Air Chief Marshal Dixit is an experimental test pilot and a qualified flying instructor.During his service career spanning approximately four decades, Dixit has been actively involved in numerous operations and exercises including Operation Safed Sagar, Operation Rakshak and Operation Sindoor.The Air Chief Marshal has held a number of significant field and staff appointments.He commanded a front-line fighter air base in the Western sector and a premier fighter training base in the Southern sector. Published - October 31, 2026 03:25 pm IST