Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, a fighter pilot with more than 3,500 hours of flying experience, will notably be the senior-most officer in line when the present IAF Chief, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, superannuates in October this year.
Air Marshal Dixit, in his previous appointment as Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CISC) — a tri-services organisation under the Chief of Defence Staff — was part of the process of fostering jointness and setting up the theatre commands.
Air Marshal Dixit was commissioned into the fighter stream of the IAF in December 1986. He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, the Defence Services Command and Staff College (Bangladesh), and the National Defence College.
The Air Marshal has extensive flying experience on various aircraft, including the Mirage 2000, variants of the MiG series of jets, the Jaguar, the Tejas, and the Hawk. He has also flown transport aircraft such as the AN-32 and the Avro, as well as the mid-air refueller.
He is an Experimental Test Pilot and a Qualified Flying Instructor. During his service career, spanning approximately four decades, he has been actively involved in numerous operations and exercises, including Operation Safed Sagar, launched during the Kargil conflict with Pakistan in 1999, and Operation Sindoor in 2025.
During his career, Air Marshal Dixit commanded a frontline fighter air base in the Western Sector and a premier fighter training base in the Southern Sector. He has also served as a Directing Staff at the Air Force Test Pilots School.
Air Marshal Dixit has commanded the Central Air Command.
During his tenure at the tri-services organisation, he was part of the jointness and integration process. Multiple joint doctrines were released, and various initiatives were conceived to strengthen the Defence Forces across all domains.
Air Marshal Dixit takes over from Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor, who superannuated.
