Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit to take over as next Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force

Key facts

• Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, currently the Vice Chief of the Indian Air Force (IAF), has been appointed as the next Chief of the Air Staff, the Ministry of Defence announced on Tuesday.
• He will take charge after the current Air Chief, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, retires on October 31.
• An Experimental Test Pilot and Qualified Flying Instructor, he has over 3,500 hours of flying experience on aircraft including the Mirage 2000, MiG variants, Kiran, Jaguar, IL-78, Hawk and Tejas.
• Born on December 9, 1966, he was commissioned into the fighter stream of the IAF on December 6, 1986, and is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, the Defence Services Staff College in Bangladesh and the National Defence College.
• In a four-decade career, he held key posts including Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC), Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Central Air Command and Deputy Chief of Air Staff.
• He participated in Operation Safed Sagar, Operation Rakshak and Operation Sindoor.