Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit appointed next IAF chief, to take charge on October 31

Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit was on Tuesday appointed the next Chief of the Air Staff and will assume charge in the substantive rank of Air Chief Marshal on October 31, the government announced.

Dixit, a veteran fighter pilot with nearly four decades of service, will have a tenure extending until December 31, 2028. The appointment places an experienced experimental test pilot with extensive involvement in indigenous aircraft programmes at the helm of the Indian Air Force at a time when it is pursuing major modernisation and indigenisation programmes.

President approves appointment

A government notification said the President had approved Dixit’s appointment as the next Chief of the Air Staff in the substantive rank of Air Chief Marshal with effect from the afternoon of October 31.

His tenure will continue until December 31, 2028.

Dixit will take over the IAF leadership with the force focused on strengthening operational preparedness while simultaneously modernising its fighter fleet, air-defence capabilities and other critical platforms.

His long association with the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft Tejas programme is expected to assume particular significance as the IAF expands the role of domestically developed and manufactured platforms.

Nearly four decades in IAF

Dixit was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on December 6, 1986. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, he subsequently attended the Defence Services Staff College in Bangladesh and the National Defence College.

During a career spanning nearly 40 years, he has accumulated more than 3,500 hours of flying experience across a wide variety of aircraft.

His flying experience includes the Mirage-2000, MiG variants, Jaguar, Tejas, Hawk, IL-78, An-32, Avro, Kiran and HPT-32.

Dixit is also an Experimental Test Pilot and a Qualified Flying Instructor, giving him extensive experience in both frontline operations and the evaluation and development of aircraft.

Deep links with Tejas

One of the defining aspects of Dixit’s career has been his association with the development and induction of the indigenous LCA Tejas.

His involvement with indigenous aircraft programmes comes as the government and the armed forces seek to reduce dependence on imported defence equipment and expand domestic design, development and manufacturing capabilities.

The Tejas programme has become a central component of the IAF’s plans to replenish fighter squadrons and progressively replace ageing aircraft. Dixit’s experience with the platform gives the incoming chief a detailed understanding of both operational requirements and the challenges involved in bringing indigenous combat aircraft into frontline service.

Operational experience

Dixit has also participated in several important military operations and exercises during his career.

These include Operation Safed Sagar, the IAF’s air operations during the 1999 Kargil conflict, and Operation Rakshak. He has also been associated with Cope India, the bilateral air exercise involving the Indian and United States air forces.

More recently, he was involved in Operation Sindoor, adding contemporary operational experience to a career that has stretched across multiple generations of the IAF’s combat fleet.

His combination of operational flying, test-pilot experience and exposure to indigenous aircraft development is likely to shape his tenure as the service confronts both immediate operational requirements and longer-term modernisation needs.

Modernisation challenge

Dixit will assume command at a consequential stage for the IAF, with the service balancing the need to maintain combat readiness against the requirement to modernise an ageing inventory.

The force has been pursuing new fighters, indigenous combat aircraft, unmanned systems, air-defence capabilities and networked warfare technologies while strengthening its ability to operate across multiple domains.

At the same time, the government’s Aatmanirbharta programme has placed increasing emphasis on domestically developed defence platforms. The IAF is a major stakeholder in several such programmes, particularly successive variants of the Tejas and other future combat-aircraft projects.

Dixit’s background as a test pilot and his involvement with the Tejas programme are expected to give him an important role in overseeing this transition.

Focus on indigenous capability

The appointment also comes as India seeks to accelerate domestic defence manufacturing and reduce the time required to move new platforms from development and testing into operational service.

For the IAF, the challenge is particularly pressing because modern combat aircraft require long development, testing and induction cycles. Maintaining adequate operational strength while retiring older fleets has therefore remained a central concern for successive Air Force chiefs.

Dixit will take charge on October 31 with these modernisation priorities forming a major part of his agenda. His tenure until the end of 2028 will cover an important period for several indigenous aviation programmes and the IAF’s efforts to strengthen its combat capabilities.