Krishna Swaminathan | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| 39thVice Chief of the Naval Staff | |
| Assumed office 1 May 2024 (2024-05-01) | |
| President | |
| Chief of Naval Staff | Dinesh Kumar Tripathi |
| Preceded by | Dinesh Kumar Tripathi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Bangalore,Karnataka, India |
| Spouse | Laila[1] |
| Relations | Tyabji family (through wife) |
| Alma mater | Indian Naval Academy |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  India |
| Branch/service |  Indian Navy |
| Years of service | July 1987 - present |
| Rank | _OF-8.svg)  Vice Admiral |
| Commands | Western Fleet INS Vikramaditya (R33) INS Mysore (D60) INS Kulish (P63) INS Vinash (K47) INS Vidyut (K48) |
| Awards |  Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Vishisht Seva Medal |
Vice AdmiralKrishna Swaminathan,AVSM,VSM is a serving Flag officer in theIndian Navy. He currently serves as theVice Chief of Naval Staff. He took over as the 39thVice Chief of Naval staff on 1 May 2024.[2] He previously served asChief of Personnel.[3] He earlier served as the Controller of Personnel Services, Chief of Staff of theWestern Naval Command,Flag Officer Defence Advisory Group (FODAG),Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet (FOCWF) andFlag Officer Sea Training (FOST). He was the secondCommanding Officer of theaircraft carrierINS Vikramaditya.
Krishna was born to D. Swaminathan and Shanta Swaminathan, both teachers, inBangalore. The Swaminathans resided in NR Colony inBasavanagudi. He attended theBishop Cotton Boys' School until the age of 15. He then attended theSainik School, Bijapur. He subsequently joined and graduated from theNational Defence Academy,Pune.[4]
Krishna was commissioned into theIndian Navy on 1 July 1987. He is a specialist in Communication and Electronic Warfare.He has completed the staff course at theJoint Services Command and Staff College,Shrivenham in theUnited Kingdom and the higher command course at theCollege of Naval Warfare inMumbai. He has also attended theNaval War College,Newport, Rhode Island in theUnited States.
Krishna has commanded five front-line ships of the Indian Navy. He has commanded theVeer-class corvettes -INS Vidyut (K48) andINS Vinash (K47), theKora-class guided-missilecorvetteINS Kulish (P63) and theguided missile destroyerINS Mysore (D60). He was in command ofMysore during thePresident's fleet review in 2011. Under his command, the ship participated in INDRA - the joint naval exercise with Russia, in late 2012.[5]
On 2 November 2015, Krishna took command of the flagship of the Indian Navy, theaircraft carrierINS Vikramaditya (R33) as its secondcommanding officer.[6][7] He commanded the carrier during theInternational Fleet Review 2016. During his command tenure,Vikramaditya was adjudged the Best Ship of the Western Fleet.[8]
In his staff appointments, Krishna has served on the staff of theWestern Fleet, has served as an instructor at theDefence Services Staff College,Wellington. As aCommodore, he served as the Naval Assistant (NA) to theChief of the Naval Staff,AdmiralRobin K. Dhowan.[9]
On promotion to Flag rank, Krishna took over as the Chief Staff Officer (Training) (CSO (Trg)) at theSouthern Naval Command, the training command of the Indian Navy, at Kochi. As CSO (Trg), he played a key role in the conduct of all training in the Navy. He was also instrumental in raising the Indian Navy Safety Team (INST) that oversees operational safety across all verticals of the Navy.[10] On 18 March 2019, he assumed the office ofFlag Officer Sea Training (FOST), also atKochi. FOST functions under the operational and administrative jurisdiction ofFlag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command. As FOST, his charter included the conduct of the operational sea training of all ships of theIndian Navy and theIndian Coast Guard. It includes enhancing crew proficiency in all aspects, including safe navigation practices, damage control and firefighting drills, weapon firings as well as seamanship training.[11]
Krishna took command of theWestern Fleet on 14 February 2020 as theFlag Officer Commanding Western Fleet.[12][13] During this tenure, the western fleet exercised with theJapanese Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) in the North Arabian Sea in the 4th edition of India - Japan Maritime bilateral exercise JIMEX. The JMSDF had its Escort Flotilla Two under the command of Rear Admiral Konno Yasushige.[14] For his command of the western fleet, on 26 January 2021, he was awarded theAti Vishisht Seva Medal.[15]
In February 2021, he relinquished command of theWestern Fleet and was appointedFlag Officer Defence Advisory Group and took over from Rear AdmiralRavindra Jayant Nadkarni.[16][17] He was the FODAG during the extremely severeCyclone Tauktae, which impacted off-shore oil operations. After a short stint as FODAG, on 4 November 2021, he was promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral and appointed Chief of Staff of theWestern Naval Command at Mumbai.[18] In April 2023, he was appointed Controller of Personnel Services at naval headquarters.[19] After a short stint as CPS, he was appointedChief of Personnel on 6 October 2023. In both appointments, CPS and COP, he took over from Vice AdmiralSuraj Berry.[20] On 1 May 2024 he took over as the 39th Vice Chief of Naval Staff succeeding Vice AdmiralDinesh K Tripathi upon his elevation as the Chief of Naval Staff.[2]
Krishna is married to Laila Swaminathan. The couple has two daughters.[21]
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{{cite web}}:|last1= has generic name (help){{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Commanding Officer INS Vikramaditya 2015 - 2017 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Flag Officer Sea Training 2019 - 2020 | Succeeded by |
| Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet 14 February 2020 – 24 February 2021 | Succeeded by | |
| Preceded by | Flag Officer Defence Advisory Group February 2021 - November 2021 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chief of Staff,Western Naval Command November 2021 - March 2023 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Controller of Personnel Services April 2023 - October 2023 | Succeeded by |
| Chief of Personnel October 2023 - April 2024 | Succeeded by | |
| Preceded by | Vice Chief of the Naval Staff 1 May 2024 - Present | Incumbent |