Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit on Saturday officially assumed charge as the new Chief of the Air Staff, taking over the leadership of the Indian Air Force from Air Chief Marshal A. P. Singh, who retired after completing an illustrious 43-year career. A ceremonial guard of honour was organised at the Race Course Air Force Station before the formal handover of command. Widely regarded as an accomplished fighter pilot and military strategist, Air Chief Marshal Dixit begins his tenure with nearly four decades of service and extensive operational experience across several key assignments within the Indian Air Force.

Before taking over as Air Force Chief, Air Chief Marshal Dixit served as the Vice Chief of the Air Staff and earlier held important positions including Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Central Air Command. A graduate of the National Defence Academy, Defence Staff Service College in Bangladesh and the National Defence College, he has accumulated more than 3,500 flying hours on over 20 different aircraft. His experience includes operating Mirage-2000, MiG variants, Jaguar, Kiran, Hawk, IL-78 and the indigenous Tejas fighter aircraft. He is also a qualified experimental test pilot and flying instructor.

Throughout his distinguished career, Air Chief Marshal Dixit has participated in several major military operations, including Operation Safed Sagar, Operation Rakshak and Operation Sindoor. He has commanded frontline fighter bases in both the Western and Southern sectors and has held numerous operational, instructional and staff appointments that contributed to the strengthening of the Indian Air Force’s combat capabilities. His appointment comes at a time when the Air Force continues to focus on modernisation, indigenous defence capabilities and enhancing India’s aerial preparedness to address evolving regional and global security challenges.