Pariksha SaathiAir Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit assumes charge as the 29th Chief of the Air Staff; Air Chief Marshal AP Singh superannuates after 42 years of service
Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, PVSM, AVSM, VM, VSM, assumed charge as the 29th Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force on 31 October 2026, succeeding Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, PVSM, AVSM, who superannuated the same day after 42 years of distinguished service to the nation. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Air Chief Marshal Dixit was commissioned into the Fighter Stream of the IAF on 6 December 1986. A Fighter Pilot, Qualified Flying Instructor and Experimental Test Pilot, he has flown aircraft including the Mirage-2000, various MiG variants, the Jaguar and several transport aircraft, and was instrumental in finalising the Jaguar and MiG-27 upgrade projects and in completing the Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) and Final Operational Clearance (FOC) activities of the LCA MK-I Tejas. He has commanded a Mirage-2000 Squadron, a Forward Base Support Unit in the Western Sector and Air Force Station Bidar, and 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. He later commanded Central Air Command as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, served as Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee during Operation Sindoor, and was the Vice Chief of the Air Staff before taking over. He is a graduate of the Defence Services Command and Staff College, Bangladesh, and the National Defence College, New Delhi. Air Chief Marshal AP Singh is a fighter pilot and Experimental Test Pilot; the IAF said his tenure as Chief of the Air Staff was marked by decisive leadership and an unwavering focus on operational readiness, particularly during Operation SINDOOR, and by an emphasis on indigenisation, innovation and the integration of emerging technologies.
Drafted with AI assistance from the official PIB release linked above and checked against it by a second AI pass. Not line-edited by a human.
Learning context
Air Chief Marshal AP Singh had taken over as Chief of the Air Staff at a ceremony at Air Headquarters (Vayu Bhawan) on 30 September 2024. Commissioned on 21 December 1984 in the fighter stream of the IAF, he is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Defence Services Staff College and National Defence College, and a Qualified Flying Instructor and Experimental Test Pilot with more than 5,000 hours of service flying on a variety of fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft. His operational tenures included being the Commanding Officer of a MiG-27 squadron and Air Officer Commanding of an air base; as a test pilot he led the MiG-29 Upgrade Project Management Team at Moscow, Russia, and he was Project Director (Flight Test) at the National Flight Test Centre, looking after the flight testing of Tejas. Before taking over as Chief of the Air Staff he was the Vice Chief of the Air Staff, and in his address to the IAF he highlighted focus areas towards building a 'Sashakt, Saksham and an Atmanirbhar' IAF.
Check yourself: on what date did Air Chief Marshal AP Singh take over as Chief of the Air Staff, and when was he commissioned?
On 30 September 2024; on 21 December 1984, in the fighter stream.
Revision task: from this release, note the new Chief's number in succession, the date he took charge, his date of commission, the upgrade projects and Tejas clearances he worked on, his commands and staff posts and his post before taking over, and the outgoing Chief's years of service; from the note, the date and place at which AP Singh took over, his date of commission and the 'Sashakt, Saksham and Atmanirbhar' IAF focus.
Test yourself
On 31 October 2026, Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit assumed charge as the Indian Air Force's ____ Chief of the Air Staff. Fill in the blank.
Show the answer
Answer: 29th
Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit assumed charge as the 29th Chief of the Air Staff on 31 October 2026, succeeding Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, who superannuated after 42 years of distinguished service. Before taking over he was the Vice Chief of the Air Staff.
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