Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh Retires After 42 Years of Service, Ashutosh Dixit Takes Over as IAF Chief
New Delhi, 31 October 2026 — Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, PVSM, AVSM, stepped down today as the 28th Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) of the Indian Air Force, ending a career that spanned from 21 December 1984 to 31 October 2026. His retirement follows superannuation after more than four decades of service in the force.
Born on 27 October 1964 in New Delhi, Air Chief Marshal Singh was trained at the National Defence Academy, the Air Force Academy at Dundigal, the Defence Services Staff College, and the National Defence College. Commissioned into the fighter stream, he went on to become a Qualified Flying Instructor and an Experimental Test Pilot, accumulating more than 5,000 hours of operational flying across fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. His flying experience included the MiG-21, MiG-29, Su-30MKI, Tejas and the HJT-16 Kiran.
Over the course of his career, he held a series of important command, operational and test-flying appointments. These included command of No. 22 Squadron, which operated the MiG-27, leadership of the MiG-29 Upgrade Project Management Team in Moscow, Chief Test Pilot at the Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment, and Project Director (Flight Test) at the National Flight Test Centre of the Aeronautical Development Agency. In that role, he contributed to the flight testing of the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft Tejas.
He later served as Senior Air Staff Officer of Eastern Air Command, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Central Air Command, and the 47th Vice Chief of the Air Staff from 1 February 2023 to 30 September 2024. He took over as Chief of the Air Staff on 30 September 2024, succeeding Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari.
As CAS, he led the Indian Air Force through Operation Sindoor and oversaw continued focus on operational readiness, modernisation and greater self-reliance in defence equipment. His service also included participation in the Kargil War and Operation Parakram. He received the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2019 and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2023.
In the days before his retirement, Air Chief Marshal Singh marked his final flying milestone with a sortie on 20 October 2026 in an HJT-16 Kiran Mk-1 trainer, the same aircraft type on which he had flown his maiden sortie on 28 January 1984 at the Air Force Academy. He was accompanied by his first flying instructor, Wing Commander V.S. Kochar (Retd), and described the experience as a “dream come true” that brought his flying career full circle. He also flew a final fighter sortie on the indigenous Tejas during Exercise Tarang Shakti.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh bade farewell to him on 26 October, acknowledging his 42 years of service and his contribution to strengthening the operational capabilities of the force. Additional farewell events were held at Air Headquarters and by senior commanders. On his final day, he was scheduled to lay a wreath at the National War Memorial and inspect a ceremonial Guard of Honour at Air Force Station, New Delhi.
He has been succeeded by Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, PVSM, AVSM, VM, VSM, who was serving as Vice Chief of the Air Staff and assumed charge as the 29th Chief of the Air Staff from the afternoon of 31 October 2026.
Air Chief Marshal Singh is married to Sarita Singh. His career traced the path of a fighter pilot through operational command, test flying and the highest strategic leadership role in the Indian Air Force.
