KOCHI: Vice-Admiral Ajit Kumar P, hailing from Ernakulam, assumed the charge as Vice-Chief of Naval Staff at an official ceremony in New Delhi on Monday.Ajit Kumar succeeds Vice-Admiral Karambir Singh, who is proceeding to Visakhapatnam to head the Eastern Naval Command from October 31.
An alumnus of National Defence Academy, Ajit Kumar was commissioned in the Navy on July 1, 1981, and is a specialist in missiles and gunnery. He has extensive operational tenures onboard frontline warships and has the distinction of having commanded six seagoing platforms which include the guided missile corvette Kulish (commissioning), the guided missile frigate Talwar, the guided missile destroyers Mumbai and Mysore.
Ajit Kumar completed the Naval Higher Command Course and is also an alumnus of Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, USA. Ajith Kumar’s important shore/staff assignments, include director, Maritime Warfare Centre, Visakhapatnam, Commanding Officer of INS Dronacharya, Kochi and Chief Staff Officer (Operations) of Western Naval Command, Mumbai.