Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit

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Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit on Wednesday assumed the charge of Vice Chief of the Air Staff after having completed his stint as the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff, which included the May 2025 standoff between India and Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.Air Marshal Dixit succeeded Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor as the Vice Chief, who superannuated on June 30 after four decades of service in the Indian Air Force (IAF). Now, Air Marshal Tejinder Singh has been tasked with taking over as the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC).Air Marshal Dixit was accorded a guard of honour at the Vayu Bhawan – the headquarters of the IAF – as he took charge as the new Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS). On relinquishing the CISC office on June 30, the HQ IDS stated in a post on X that his tenure was defined by landmark contributions that reshaped the contours of integrated defence, playing a pivotal role in Operation Sindoor, a defining moment in India’s national security calculus.He also steered the release of 20 joint doctrines and primers that institutionalised tri-services thought and conceptualised Ran Samwad 2025 and 2026, an unprecedented military dialogue platform. Other than that, he orchestrated the combined and joint commanders’ conferences 2025 and 2026; and anchored the formulation of the Defence Forces Vision 2047 — “a transformative roadmap for a technology-driven, integrated and future-ready military.”Air Marshal Dixit was commissioned into the fighter stream of the IAF in December 1986, and he went on to become a qualified flying instructor and experimental test pilot with over 3,300 hours of flying experience on more than 20 types of aircraft, including Mirage-2000, MiG-21 and Jaguar.Meanwhile, Air Marshal Tejinder Singh, who took over as the CISC on Wednesday, is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Defence Service Staff College and National Defence College. He too is from the fighter stream and was commissioned into the Indian Air Force on June 13, 1987. According to his official resume, Air Marshal Singh is a Category ‘A’ Qualified Flying Instructor with over 4,500 hours of flying experience. He has commanded a Fighter Squadron, a Radar Station, a premier Fighter Base and was Air Officer Commanding, Jammu & Kashmir.Before his present appointment, the Air Marshal was the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C), South Western Air Command. In recognition of his meritorious service, Air Marshal Singh was awarded the Vayu Sena Medal in 2007, the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2022 and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2026.Published on July 1, 2026