Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit to be next Vice-Chief of Air Staff

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective.

First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming.

Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day.

Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers

Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there

The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features.

Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, a distinguished fighter pilot, has been appointed as the next Vice-Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS) and will assume office on July 1. He succeeds Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor.

Currently serving as the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CISC), Air Marshal Dixit has played a pivotal role in enhancing jointness among the armed forces and advancing efforts towards the creation of integrated theatre commands. His tenure has focused on improving coordination and operational synergy between the Army, Navy and the Air Force.

An accomplished officer with extensive operational and leadership experience, Air Marshal Dixit has also been closely associated with the Indian Air Force’s modernisation drive. During various assignments at the Air headquarters, he contributed significantly to the promotion of indigenous fighter aircraft programmes and capability enhancement initiatives.

Commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on December 6, 1986, Air Marshal Dixit is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, the Defence Services Staff College, Bangladesh, and the National Defence College, New Delhi.

A qualified flying instructor and an experimental test pilot, he has accumulated more than 3,300 flying hours on over 20 types of aircraft, including the Mirage-2000, MiG-21 and Jaguar fighter jets.

During his distinguished career, he commanded a premier fighter training base under the Southern Air Command, which earned recognition as the best base in the command during his tenure. As Commanding Officer of the Flight Test Squadron at the Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE), Bengaluru, he was actively involved in several indigenous development and upgrade programmes, including avionics modernisation projects for the Jaguar and MiG-27 fleets.

Air Marshal Dixit also served as Director of Air Staff Requirements, where he played a key role in planning and conducting t