Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit took over as the 29th Chief of the Air Staff on Saturday, succeeding Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, who superannuated after 42 years in uniform.

The change of command took effect in the afternoon. Before handing over, Air Chief Marshal Singh paid homage at the National War Memorial to the personnel who laid down their lives in the service of the nation, and was then presented a ceremonial Guard of Honour by IAF Air Warriors as a parting salute. Air Chief Marshal Dixit, until now the Vice Chief of the Air Staff, will hold the appointment until 31 December 2028, according to the order issued by the Ministry of Defence earlier this month.

Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit assumes charge as 29th Chief of the Air Staff

An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, he was commissioned into the fighter stream of the IAF on 6 December 1986.

He is a fighter pilot, a Qualified Flying Instructor and an Experimental Test Pilot, with over 3,300 hours on the Mirage-2000, several MiG variants, the Jaguar and a range of transport aircraft, according to the IAF. His career has run across operations, flight testing, capability development and joint staff work. He is a graduate of the Defence Services Command and Staff College in Bangladesh and the National Defence College, New Delhi.

Command and staff appointments

His command tenures include a Mirage-2000 squadron, a Forward Base Support Unit in the Western Sector and Air Force Station Bidar, a premier fighter training base. He has also served as Air Defence Commander at Southern Air Command and as Senior Air Staff Officer at South Western Air Command.

As Deputy Chief of the Air Staff, he steered capability development and procurement.

He went on to head Central Air Command as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, and was Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC) during Operation Sindoor. Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit was named the next Chief of the Air Staff in early October.

Tejas clearances and fleet upgrades

The Indian Air Force credits him with a key role in finalising the Jaguar and MiG-27 upgrade projects, and with contributing to the Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) and Final Operational Clearance (FOC) of the LCA Tejas Mk-I. He has been awarded the Vayu Sena Medal, the Vishisht Seva Medal, the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal.

Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh superannuates after 42 years

Air Chief Marshal Singh was commissioned on 21 December 1984 and took over as the 28th Chief of the Air Staff on 30 September 2024, succeeding Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari. His tenure ran for around 25 months.

A Qualified Flying Instructor and Experimental Test Pilot with more than 5,000 hours of flying, he commanded a MiG-27 squadron, led the MiG-29 upgrade Project Management Team in Moscow, and served as Chief Test Pilot at the Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment and as Project Director (Flight Test) at the National Flight Test Centre. He was Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Central Air Command before becoming the 47th Vice Chief of the Air Staff in February 2023.

A busy final month

At his annual press conference on 3 October, Air Chief Marshal Singh said the IAF needed to induct 36 to 40 aircraft a year, and that the Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) deal could be concluded within this financial year.

On 12 October, during Exercise Tarang Shakti, he flew his last fighter sortie in a Tejas over Jodhpur.