NEW DELHI: Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan, currently serving as Vice Chief of the Navy, is set to take over as the next Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command in Mumbai, while Vice Admiral Ajay Kochhar, currently serving as Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command (CINCAN), is set to succeed him as Vice Chief, sources in the Navy confirmed.
The appointments are expected to be formalised shortly following Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan’s elevation as the next Chief of the Naval. Vice Adm Swaminathan, who has headed the Mumbai-based Western Naval Command since July last year, will assume charge as Navy chief on May 31 upon the retirement of Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi. The top-level reshuffle comes at a time when the Navy is sharpening operational focus in the Indian Ocean Region amid growing Chinese naval deployments, increasing Pakistan-China maritime cooperation and expanding emphasis on long-range maritime strike capability, surveillance and carrier battle group operations.
Headquartered in Mumbai, the Western Naval Command is the Navy’s principal operational and warfighting command responsible for the Arabian Sea and India’s Pakistan-facing maritime front.The command also safeguards critical sea lanes, offshore infrastructure and energy routes through which a major share of India’s trade and hydrocarbon imports move.
Commissioned on January 1, 1988, Vice Adm Vatsayan is a specialist in gunnery and missile systems and has extensive operational as well as staff experience. Over the course of his career, he has commanded missile vessels, corvettes and INS Sahyadri, the Shivalik-class stealth frigate inducted in 2011. At flag rank, Vice Adm Vatsayan commanded the Eastern Fleet and also held senior appointments at the Integrated Defence Staff dealing with operations, force structuring, policy planning and capability development before taking over as Vice Chief in August last year.
Vice Adm Kochhar, who is to take over as Vice Chief, is currently serving as Commander-in-Chief of the tri-service Andaman and Nicobar Command.The Andaman and Nicobar Command has acquired growing strategic salience because of its proximity to the Malacca Strait, through which a substantial portion of Chinese trade and energy traffic passes. Commissioned into the Navy on July 1, 1988, he is a specialist in gunnery and missile warfare and has commanded several frontline warships, including aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya and stealth frigate INS Trikand, which he commissioned in Russia in 2013.
At flag rank, Vice Adm Kochhar held several key appointments linked to naval modernisation and force development.As Assistant Controller Carrier Projects, he was associated with the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier programme, while as Assistant Controller Warship Production and Acquisition he handled matters related to construction and acquisition of warships from Indian as well as foreign shipyards.He later commanded the Western Fleet before serving with the Advanced Technology Vessel Project linked to India’s nuclear submarine programme.
Vice Adm Kochhar subsequently served as Commandant of the National Defence Academy and later as Chief of Staff of the Western Naval Command before taking over as Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command in October last year.
