New Delhi, Jul 1 (PTI) Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, who served as the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff during Operation Sindoor, took charge as the new Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS) on Wednesday, officials said.
He succeeded Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor, who superannuated on June 30 after four decades of service in the Indian Air Force (IAF).
Lt Gen Sandeep Jain assumed charge as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff, the defence ministry said.
An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, he was commissioned into the Mahar Regiment in June 1988. With nearly four decades of distinguished service, he has held a wide range of command and staff appointments across diverse operational environments.
Lt Gen Rajesh Pushkar assumed charge as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Command, succeeding Lt Gen Jain.
Lt Gen Mohit Malhotra assumed office as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Jaipur-based South Western Command.
The defence ministry said Air Marshal Dixit was commissioned into the fighter stream of the IAF on December 6, 1986.
He is an alumnus of National Defence Academy, Defence Staff Service College (Bangladesh) and National Defence College with more than 3,500 hours of flying experience.
“The Air Marshal has an extensive flying experience on various aircraft; to name a few; Mirage-2000, variants of MiG, HPT-32, An-32, Avro, Kiran, Jaguar, IL-78, Hawk and Tejas. He is an Experimental Test Pilot and a Qualified Flying Instructor.
“During his service career, spanning approximately four decades, he has been actively involved in numerous operations and exercises, viz., ‘Op Safed Sagar’,’ Op Rakshak’, Cope-India and ‘Op Sindoor’,” the defence ministry said in another statement.
Air Marshal Dixit was accorded a guard of honour at the IAF headquarters, Vayu Bhawan, here as he took charge.
Prior to the ceremony, the air officer visited the National War Memorial and laid a wreath to pay homage to the fallen heroes of the armed forces.
Before being appointed as VCAS, he was serving as the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CISC) at the Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS) here.
Air Marshal Dixit assumed charge as CISC on May 1, 2025, and relinquished it on June 30.
The armed forces conducted Operation Sindoor in May 2025 in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. Military officers and experts have often emphasised the integration of the three services demonstrated during the military action that began in the early hours of May 7 and lasted nearly 88 hours.
Air Marshal Tejinder Singh took over as the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC) on July 1, succeeding Air Marshal Dixit.
An alumnus of National Defence Academy, Defence Service Staff College and National Defence College, Air Marshal Singh was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on June 13, 1987. He is a Category ‘A’ Qualified Flying Instructor with over 4,500 hours of flying experience, the defence ministry said.
Prior to his appointment, the Air Marshal was the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C), South Western Air Command (SWAC).
He is succeeded by Air Marshal P V Shivanand, who took charge as AOC-in-C, SWAC, on Wednesday.
Air Marshal Jasvir Singh Mann assumed charge of the Southern Air Command. PTI KND DIV DIV
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