New Delhi, May 1: Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, an accomplished fighter pilot with over 3,300 hours of flying experience on over 20 types of aircraft, on Thursday assumed charge as Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CISC), considered to be a key position at the headquarters of Integrated Defence Staff.
He succeeds Lt Gen JP Mathew who superannuated on Wednesday.
Before assuming charge, Air Marshal Dixit laid a wreath at the National War Memorial, and paid homage to the fallen soldiers.
In a distinguished career spanning close to four decades, the Air Marshal has held a variety of Command, Staff and Instructional appointments, and has been conferred with the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal and Vayu Sena Medal for his services.
Prior to taking over as CISC, Air Marshal Dixit was serving as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Central Air Command. He focused on enhancing operational readiness and fostering coordination with other services in Uttar Bharat and central region.
The Air Marshal was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on December 6, 1986.
He is an alumnus of National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla; Defence Services Staff College (Bangladesh) and National Defence College, New Delhi.
He is a qualified flying instructor and experimental test pilot with over 3,300 hours of flying experience on over 20 types of aircraft, including Mirage-2000, MiG-21 and Jaguar.
Air Marshal Dixit also commanded a premier fighter training base in the Southern Sector where his leadership led to the base being adjudged the best in the command, according to the defence ministry.
As a test pilot and later Commanding Officer of the Flight Test Squadron at Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment, Bengaluru, he was involved in several indigenous upgrades and development programmes including the avionics upgrades for Jaguar and MiG-27. (PTI)
