Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit Named Next IAF Chief, to Take Over as Air Chief Marshal on October 31

New Delhi, 6 October 2026: Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, PVSM, AVSM, VM, VSM, an experimental test pilot and fighter leader with more than 3,500 flying hours, has been appointed the next Chief of the Air Staff. He will take over as Air Chief Marshal from the afternoon of 31 October 2026 and remain in office until 31 December 2028.

The appointment was cleared by the President, according to a communication dated 6 October 2026 from New Delhi and addressed to the Chief of the Air Staff at Air Headquarters, Vayu Bhawan. The letter states that Air Marshal Dixit has been approved as the next Chief of the Air Staff with effect from the afternoon of 31 October 2026, for a tenure ending on 31 December 2028.

He will succeed Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, PVSM, AVSM, the 28th Chief of the Air Staff, who took charge on 30 September 2024 and is due to superannuate on 31 October 2026. Air Marshal Dixit is currently the 51st Vice Chief of the Air Staff, a post he has held since 1 July 2026.

Commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on 6 December 1986, Air Marshal Dixit is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, the Defence Services Staff College in Bangladesh and the National Defence College. He is a Qualified Flying Instructor and an Experimental Test Pilot. According to the official record released on his assumption of office as Vice Chief, he has flown more than 3,500 hours on the Mirage-2000, variants of the MiG, Jaguar, Tejas, Hawk, IL-78, An-32, Avro, Kiran and HPT-32.

His career has combined frontline operations, instructional duties and test flying. He commanded No. 9 Squadron during its re-equipment with the Mirage-2000, served as Directing Staff at the Air Force Test Pilots School, and later led the Flight Test Squadron at the Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment in Bengaluru. In his test role, he was associated with indigenous upgrade programmes, including avionics upgrades of the Jaguar and MiG-27. He is also credited with participation in Operation Safed Sagar during the Kargil conflict and in Operation Rakshak. As Director of Air Staff Requirements, he was closely involved in planning and conducting the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft trials.

At Air Headquarters, he has served as Principal Director of Air Staff Requirements, Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Projects) and Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Plans). He has also been Air Defence Commander of Southern Air Command. Promoted to Air Marshal on 1 October 2022, he went on to serve as Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters South Western Air Command before becoming Deputy Chief of the Air Staff on 15 May 2023.

During his time as Deputy Chief, several indigenous combat-aircraft programmes, including the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas Mk-1A, Tejas Mk-2 and the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft, moved ahead. He continued to be associated with these efforts in later assignments, including a review of the Tejas Mk-1A and other indigenous aviation projects at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in Bengaluru. His elevation is expected to keep the Air Force’s focus on Aatmanirbharta in combat aviation, aero-engines and related capability development.

Air Marshal Dixit later commanded Central Air Command as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief from 1 September 2024 to 30 April 2025. On 1 May 2025, he took over as Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee, and served in that tri-service post until 30 June 2026. That period covered coordination during Operation Sindoor and the release of several joint doctrines intended to institutionalise tri-service planning. He then became Vice Chief of the Air Staff on 1 July 2026, succeeding Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor.

In recognition of his service, Air Marshal Dixit 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.

He will assume command of the Air Force at a time when the service is balancing operational readiness with the induction of indigenous fighters, progress on next-generation combat aircraft and closer integration with the Army and the Navy. His background as a test pilot, force planner and supporter of indigenous programmes places him at the centre of that transition for a tenure that runs until 31 December 2028.