New Delhi | Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, an accomplished fighter pilot with over 3,500 hours of flying experience on over 20 types of aircraft, will be the next Chief of Air Staff succeeding incumbent Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, the defence ministry announced on Tuesday.

Dixit, known for his strategic planning and who played a key role during Operation Sindoor, is currently serving as the Vice Chief of the force.

In a distinguished career spanning four decades, the Air Marshal has held a variety of Command, Staff and Instructional appointments.

The government has appointed Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit as the 29th Chief of the Air Staff with effect from the afternoon of October 31, the ministry said.

Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh will superannuate that day.

Born on December 9, 1966, Air Marshal Dixit was commissioned into the fighter stream of Indian Air Force on December 6, 1986.

Prior to assuming charge as the Vice Chief of the Air Staff, he has 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 National Defence Academy, Defence Staff Service College (Bangladesh) and National Defence College. He has more than 3500 hours of extensive flying experience on various aircraft including Mirage-2000, variants of Mig, Kiran, Jaguar, IL-78, Hawk and Tejas.

He is an experimental test pilot and a qualified flying instructor. During his service career spanning approximately four decades, Air Marshal Dixit has been actively involved in numerous operations and exercises including Operation-Sated Sagar, Operation-Rakshak and Operation Sindoor.

The Air Marshal has held a number of significant field and staff appointments.

He commanded a front-line fighter air base in Western sector and a premiere fighter training base in Southern sector.

Air Marshal Dixit was involved in several indigenous upgrade and development programmes including the avionics upgrades for the Jaguar and MiG-27.

The operational capability of Indian Air Force has improved with contribution of the Air Officer in various capacities, the ministry said.

He was awarded Vayu Sena Medal in 2006, Vishisht Seva Medal in 2011, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2023 and Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2026 in recognition of his distinguished services.