Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan takes charge as Vice Chief of Indian Navy

Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan took over as the Vice Chief of the Indian Navy on Friday. A native of Hiranagar, Hamirpur (Himachal Pradesh), he represents the second generation of his family in the armed forces.

He has taken over from Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, who has been appointed as the Western Navy Commander at Mumbai. The Western Command is the sword arm of the Navy. Vice Admiral Swaminathan replaced Vice Admiral Sanjay J Singh on Thursday.

On assuming charge, Vice Admiral Vatsayan paid homage at the National War Memorial. A specialist in gunnery and missile systems, he has held a wide range of command and operational assignments.

At sea, he has served onboard various frontline warships, including as the commissioning crew of the INS Mysore.

He has commanded Coast Guard ship C-05, Navy warships INS Vibhuti, INS Nashak, INS Kuthar and was the first commanding officer of INS Sahyadri.

In February 2020, he took over as the Flag Officer Commanding of the Navy’s Eastern Fleet, and led operational deployments and exercises during a time of heightened maritime activity, post events of Galwan clash with China in Eastern Ladakh.

A graduate of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, Naval War College, Goa, and the prestigious National Defence College, New Delhi, Vice Admiral Vatsayan has been Principal Director Naval Plans.

He has served as the Assistant Chief of Naval Staff and served as the Deputy Commandant of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla.

Prior to taking over as the Vice Chief of the Navy, he was Deputy Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff (DCIDS) – Operations.