Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, an accomplished fighter pilot, experimental test pilot and senior commander with extensive operational and tri-services experience, has been appointed the 29th Chief of the Air Staff (CAS).
Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit will assume the rank of Air Chief Marshal and take charge from the afternoon of October 31, 2026, succeeding Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, who is superannuating the same day.
Currently serving as Vice Chief of the Air Staff, Dixit brings nearly four decades of military experience to the IAF’s top position. Commissioned into the fighter stream on December 6, 1986, he is an Experimental Test Pilot and Qualified Flying Instructor with more than 3,500 flying hours. He has flown a wide spectrum of aircraft, including the Mirage-2000, MiG variants, Jaguar, Hawk, Tejas, IL-78, An-32 and Avro.
His operational record includes participation in Operation Safed Sagar, Operation Rakshak, Cope India and Operation Sindoor. He has commanded No. 9 Squadron, which he re-equipped with the Mirage-2000, as well as a frontline fighter air base and a fighter training base.
His senior appointments have included Deputy Chief of the Air Staff, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Central Air Command, and Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC).
His tenure at Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff is particularly significant as the armed forces pursue greater jointness and integration. The Ministry of Defence has credited him with advancing joint doctrines, orders and initiatives designed to strengthen integration across the services.
Dixit is also closely associated with the IAF’s indigenous aircraft programmes. As Vice Chief, he recently indicated that the LCA Tejas Mk1A was approaching induction after initial engine-supply constraints were addressed, with final technical testing underway.
He takes over at a consequential moment for the IAF, with the service simultaneously pursuing modernisation, indigenous capability development and deeper operational interoperability with partner air forces.
At the ongoing Tarang Shakti-26, Dixit has emphasised lessons from contemporary conflicts, including the growing importance of precision weapons, integrated air defence, unmanned systems, information dominance, space capabilities and multi-domain operations.
The appointment therefore places an officer with experience spanning fighter operations, flight testing, indigenous capability development, strategic commands and tri-services integration at the helm of the IAF during a major phase of technological and operational transformation.
Air Marshal Dixit has been decorated with the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Vayu Sena Medal and Vishisht Seva Medal.
