Who is Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit? Get to know the newly appointed Deputy Chief of Air Staff

Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit has been appointed as Deputy Chief Air Staff today. He is a retired Indian Air Force officer who served as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) of the Indian Air Force's Southern Air Command. This article will give you some necessary insights about his contributions and background. 

Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit has been appointed as the new Deputy Chief of Air Staff. He will be in charge of the modernisation of the force.

(file pic) pic.twitter.com/wBFiyyvAp5

— ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2023

Who is Ashutosh Dixit?

Ashutosh Dixit is a retired Indian Air Force officer who served as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) of the Indian Air Force's Southern Air Command. He was commissioned as a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force in 1982 and has flown various fighter aircraft, including the MiG-21 and MiG-29.

Background 

Wing Commander Ashutosh Dixit (18558) Flying Pilot was commissioned as a fighter pilot in the Flying Branch of the Indian Air Force on 6th Dec 1986. Then, on 15th December, he took over the command of a fighter squadron along with its rejuvenation and re-equipping with Mirage-2000 aircraft. 

During his career, Air Marshal Dixit held several key operational and staff appointments, including as the Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) of the Western Air Command and as the Director General (Operations) at Air Headquarters. He has also served as India's Defense Attaché to France. Under his supervision, the squadron completed 500 hours of flight time in three and a half months. 

He has also been awarded the Vayu Sena Medal. Apart from this, he also conducted research into the functioning of the Mirage Mission Preparation System (MIPSY) which was used successfully during Exercise Golden Eagle in South Africa and the ferry of Mirage-2000 from France.