Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, a fighter pilot with more than 3,500 hours of flying experience across over 20 types of aircraft, on Saturday took charge as the new Chief of the Air Staff, succeeding Air Chief Marshal A P Singh, who retired after a 43-year career in the Indian Air Force (IAF).
The IAF accorded a ceremonial guard of honour to Air Chief Marshal Singh at the Race Course Air Force Station before he handed over charge to Dixit.
Dixit, who was serving as the Vice Chief of the Air Staff, has held several command, staff and instructional appointments during his nearly four-decade career. He also played a key role in Operation Sindoor and has been associated with several major military operations and exercises.
Born on December 9, 1966, Dixit was commissioned into the fighter stream of the IAF on December 6, 1986. Before taking over as Vice Chief of the Air Staff, he served as the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee, at the Headquarters of Integrated Defence Staff.
He had earlier served as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Central Air Command.
An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, the Defence Services Staff College in Bangladesh and the National Defence College, Dixit is an experimental test pilot and a qualified flying instructor.
His flying experience spans more than 3,500 hours on aircraft including the Mirage-2000, MiG variants, Kiran, Jaguar, IL-78, Hawk and Tejas.
During his career, Dixit has been involved in operations and exercises including Operation Safed Sagar, Operation Rakshak and Operation Sindoor. He has also commanded a frontline fighter air base in the western sector and a major fighter training base in the southern sector.
(With inputs from PTI)