New Delhi: Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, Vice-Chief of the Indian Air Force (IAF), will take over as the next Chief of the Air Staff on 31 October.
He will assume command of the IAF from Air Chief Marshal A.P.Singh who will superannuate that day.
An Experimental Test Pilot and Qualified Flying Instructor with more than 3,500 hours of flying experience, Dixit will be the first officer to have commanded a Mirage-2000 squadron to go on to become the IAF chief.
His appointment is significant as he belongs to a generation of fighter pilots that came of age with the induction of the Mirage-2000 into the IAF and the evolution of modern air warfare, including beyond-visual-range (BVR) combat. The warfighting is now increasingly about beyond visual range tactics and capabilities.
Dixit was commissioned into the IAF’s fighter stream on 6 December 1986. He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, the Defence Staff Services College in Bangladesh, and the National Defence College.
A keen observer of the changing nature of aerial warfare, Dixit has spoken candidly about the growing role of unmanned systems and their integration with manned aircraft.
In May, while serving as the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CISC), Dixit said that the robotic warfare of the future was already here and that unmanned aerial systems were no longer merely enablers but means of warfare in their own right.
Unmanned aircraft were “already replacing manned aircraft in an increasing variety of roles” and were influencing the outcome of conflicts, he asserted.
Apart from the Mirage-2000, Dixit has extensive flying experience on a range of aircraft, including the Mirage-2000, various MiG variants, HPT-32, An-32, Avro, Kiran, Jaguar, IL-78, Hawk and Tejas.
During his nearly four-decade career, he has been involved in several operations and exercises, including Operation Safed Sagar, Operation Rakshak, Cope India and Operation Sindoor.
As Commanding Officer, Dixit re-equipped No. 9 Squadron with the Mirage-2000 and later commanded a frontline fighter air base in the Western Sector as well as a premier fighter training base in the Southern Sector. He has also served as Directing Staff at the Air Force Test Pilots School and as Principal Director, Air Staff Requirement, at Air Headquarters.
Dixit subsequently served as Air Defence Commander of Southern Air Command and held key appointments including Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Projects), Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Plans), Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters South Western Air Command and Deputy Chief of the Air Staff at Air Headquarters.
As CISC, Dixit pushed for greater jointness and integration among the three services. During his tenure, multiple joint doctrines and orders were issued and several initiatives were undertaken to strengthen the armed forces’ capabilities across domains.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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