Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met newly appointed Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, and conveyed his best wishes for a successful tenure leading the Indian Air Force (IAF).

In a message shared on X, Singh described the new Air Chief as a distinguished air warrior with exceptional leadership qualities. He stated: "Met with the newly appointed Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit. He is a distinguished air warrior known for excellent leadership. I wish him a wonderful tenure ahead."

Air Chief Marshal Dixit formally assumed office as the 29th Chief of the Air Staff on 31 October 2026. He succeeded Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, who retired after completing 42 years of service to the nation.

Shortly after taking command, Air Chief Marshal Dixit outlined his priorities for the service under the ‘VAYU’ vision. His focus areas include maintaining combat readiness, restoring sanctioned fighter strength, advancing indigenous defence capabilities, accelerating technological innovation and strengthening integration among the armed forces.

A graduate of the National Defence Academy, he was commissioned into the Fighter Stream of the Indian Air Force on 6 December 1986. Over a career spanning nearly four decades, he has accumulated extensive experience in operations, flight testing, capability development and joint staff appointments.

An accomplished fighter pilot, qualified flying instructor and experimental test pilot, Air Chief Marshal Dixit has logged more than 3,300 flying hours on a diverse range of aircraft. His experience includes the Mirage 2000, multiple MiG variants, the Jaguar and several transport aircraft.

He is widely recognised for his contribution to the modernisation of the IAF. He played a key role in finalising the upgrade programmes for the Jaguar and MiG-27 fleets and was closely involved in achieving both Initial Operational Clearance and Final Operational Clearance for the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk-I.

His operational commands have included a Mirage-2000 squadron, a Forward Base Support Unit in the western sector and Air Force Station Bidar, one of the IAF's leading fighter training establishments.

During his distinguished career, he also served as Air Defence Commander at Southern Air Command, Senior Air Staff Officer at South Western Air Command and Deputy Chief of the Air Staff, where he oversaw important capability development and procurement efforts.

He later headed Central Air Command as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief and subsequently served as Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee during Operation Sindoor. Before becoming Chief of the Air Staff, he held the position of Vice Chief of the Air Staff.

The appointment places one of the IAF's most experienced operational and modernisation-focused officers at the helm at a time when the service is pursuing greater self-reliance, force modernisation and enhanced jointness across India's military establishment.

ANI