The government has appointed Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, the current Vice Chief of the Air Staff, as the 29th Chief of the Air Staff. He will assume the rank of Air Chief Marshal on the afternoon of October 31, 2026, succeeding Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh who superannuates the same day. The appointment places a fighter pilot and experimental test pilot with more than 3,500 hours of flying at the head of the Indian Air Force during a phase of rapid modernisation and joint operations.
Air Force Chief of India: Appointment and Tenure Details
The Ministry of Defence announced the appointment on October 6, 2026. The order states that Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit will hold the substantive rank of Air Chief Marshal with effect from the afternoon of October 31, 2026. His tenure will run up to December 31, 2028.
The appointment follows the established succession practice in the Indian Air Force. The serving Vice Chief of the Air Staff is elevated as the next Chief when the incumbent retires. Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh took charge as Chief on September 30, 2024, after serving as Vice Chief, and he superannuates on October 31, 2026. Air Marshal Dixit took charge as the 51st Vice Chief of the Air Staff on July 1, 2026, after serving as Chief of Integrated Defence Staff.
The Chief of the Air Staff is the professional head of the Indian Air Force. The officer commands, administers and oversees the operational readiness of the service from Air Headquarters (Vayu Bhawan) in New Delhi. Appointments to the post are made by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, with formal approval of the President of India, who is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
Who Is Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit
Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit is an experimental test pilot and Qualified Flying Instructor commissioned into the Indian Air Force on December 6, 1986. Born on December 9, 1966, he has served for nearly four decades and became the 51st Vice Chief of Air Staff on July 1, 2026.
Air Marshal Dixit is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla (69th course) and the Air Force Academy, Dundigal. He later completed the staff course at the Defence Services Staff College in Bangladesh and studied at the National Defence College in New Delhi. This combination of flying, testing and staff education shaped his later roles in trials, planning and tri-services integration.
As a pilot, Air Marshal Dixit has logged more than 3,500 hours on a wide range of aircraft. His fleet includes the Mirage-2000, MiG-21 and MiG variants, Jaguar, Hawk, Kiran, An-32, Avro, HPT-32, IL-78 and Tejas. An experimental test pilot is a pilot specially trained to fly new or modified aircraft and to record their performance with precision. A Qualified Flying Instructor is certified to train other pilots. Air Marshal Dixit holds both qualifications and has served as Directing Staff at the Air Force Test Pilots School.
| Career Stage | Key Post Held |
|---|---|
| Command | Commanding Officer of No. 9 Squadron (re-equipped the squadron with Mirage-2000), Commander of a frontline fighter base in the Western Sector, Commander of a premier fighter training base in the Southern Sector |
| Senior Staff at Air Headquarters | Principal Director Air Staff Requirement, Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Projects), Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Plans), Deputy Chief of Air Staff |
| Regional Commands | Air Defence Commander of Southern Air Command, Senior Air Staff Officer of South Western Air Command, Air Officer Commanding in Chief of Central Air Command (from September 1, 2024) |
| Tri-services Role | Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee at Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (from May 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026) |
| Current Senior Role | 51st Vice Chief of the Air Staff (from July 1, 2026) |
What Is Air Chief Marshal
Air Chief Marshal is the highest active rank in the Indian Air Force, held only by the Chief of Air Staff. It is a four star rank equivalent to General in the Army and Admiral in the Navy. Officers reach it through promotion after about four decades of commissioned service.
The rank sits at the top of the officer hierarchy. Only one officer holds it at a time, and that officer is the serving Chief of the Air Staff (CAS). The CAS functions as the professional head of the service and advises the government on air operations, acquisitions and preparedness. The office is based at Air Headquarters and the officer reports to the President, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defence and the Chief of Defence Staff on joint matters.
| Rank | Service | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Air Chief Marshal | Indian Air Force | Four star, held by CAS |
| General | Indian Army | Four star equivalent |
| Admiral | Indian Navy | Four star equivalent |
| Marshal of the Indian Air Force | Indian Air Force | Five star ceremonial rank, conferred only once on Arjan Singh in January 2002 |
An officer does not enter directly as Air Chief Marshal. Entry is as a Flying Officer after training at the National Defence Academy and the Air Force Academy or through routes such as the Air Force Common Admission Test. Promotion moves step by step through Flying Officer, Flight Lieutenant, Squadron Leader, Wing Commander, Group Captain, Air Commodore, Air Vice Marshal and Air Marshal. Selection as CAS carries elevation to Air Chief Marshal.
The tenure rule provides continuity with accountability. Under the Regulations for the Air Force, a Chief serves for three years or up to the age of 62, whichever is earlier. The post was created in its present form in 1955, and the first holder was Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee. The pay for the post is fixed at the apex Level 18 of the defence pay matrix.
Vice Chief of Air Staff and the Succession Path
The Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS) is the second in command of the Indian Air Force. The post was created on January 1, 1963, and the first holder was Air Vice Marshal Atma Ram Nanda. The Vice Chief functions from Air Headquarters in New Delhi and supports the Chief across operations, planning, acquisitions and administration. The Deputy Chief of the Air Staff reports within this chain and assists both offices.
Air Marshal Dixit assumed charge as the 51st Vice Chief on July 1, 2026, succeeding Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor, who superannuated on June 30, 2026. The short gap between his Vice Chief tenure and his elevation as Chief follows a familiar pattern in recent years. Both Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh and his predecessor Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari served as Vice Chief before becoming Chief, which gives the incoming Chief direct familiarity with pending files, procurement timelines and operational commitments.
Before becoming Vice Chief, Air Marshal Dixit served as Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CISC) at Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff from May 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026. In that tri-services post, he worked on jointness and integration among the Army, Navy and Air Force. His tenure saw the release of about 20 joint doctrines and primers, the conceptualisation of the Ran Samwad military dialogue platform for 2025 and 2026, the conduct of the Combined and Joint Commanders Conferences, and work on the Defence Forces Vision 2047 roadmap for a technology driven and integrated military. Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff also credited his role during Operation Sindoor, which officials have described as a defining moment in recent national security planning.
Operations, Commands and Honours
Air Marshal Dixit has taken part in three major operations across his career. He was actively involved in Operation Safed Sagar, the air component of the 1999 Kargil War, in Operation Rakshak, the long running counter insurgency and counter terrorism deployment in Jammu and Kashmir, and in Operation Sindoor. He also participated in the Cope-India air exercise with the United States Air Force, which tests interoperability between fighter fleets.
His command record shows steady progression from squadron to regional command. As Commanding Officer, he re-equipped No. 9 Squadron with Mirage-2000 aircraft. He later commanded a frontline fighter base in the Western Sector and a premier fighter training base in the Southern Sector. As Air Officer Commanding in Chief of Central Air Command, headquartered at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, he oversaw air operations across a large central zone of the country.
In staff roles connected to modernisation, Air Marshal Dixit worked closely with indigenous aircraft programmes. As Principal Director Air Staff Requirement, he was associated with planning and conduct of the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) trials. During his tenure as Deputy Chief of the Air Staff from May 2023, projects such as the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mark-1A, LCA Mark-2 and the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) recorded significant forward movement. The LCA Tejas is India’s indigenously developed fighter, while the AMCA is the planned indigenous fifth generation stealth fighter.
| Award | Year | Full Form and Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Vayu Sena Medal (VM) | 2006 | Awarded for devotion to duty and professional excellence in the Air Force |
| Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) | 2011 | Awarded for distinguished service of a high order |
| Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) | 2023 | Awarded for distinguished service of an exceptional order |
| Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) | 2026 | Awarded for distinguished service of the most exceptional order, the highest peacetime distinguished service medal |
Key Takeaways
- Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit will become the 29th Chief of the Air Staff in the rank of Air Chief Marshal on the afternoon of October 31, 2026.
- He succeeds Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, who superannuates on October 31, 2026, and his tenure runs up to December 31, 2028.
- Air Marshal Dixit was commissioned into the fighter stream on December 6, 1986, and took charge as the 51st Vice Chief of Air Staff on July 1, 2026.
- He is an experimental test pilot with more than 3,500 hours on aircraft including Mirage-2000, Jaguar and Tejas.
- The Chief of Air Staff serves for three years or up to age 62 and heads the Indian Air Force from Vayu Bhawan, New Delhi.
- Air Marshal Dixit participated in Operation Safed Sagar, Operation Rakshak and Operation Sindoor and received the PVSM in 2026 and AVSM in 2023.
