Vice Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

A. N. Pramod,

AVSM Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM, ) is a military award of India given to recognize "distinguished service of an exceptional order" to all ranks of the armed forces. The award is a peacetime equivalent of Uttam Yuddh Seva Medal, which is a Wartime ...

is a serving flag officer in the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

. , he served as the Director General Naval Operations. He earlier served as the

Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area (FOMA) is a senior appointment in the Indian Navy. One of the five Area Commanders of the Indian Navy, the FOMA is a two star admiral holding the rank of Rear Admiral. The FOMA has operational contr ...

and as the Deputy Commandant and Chief Instructor of the

Indian Naval Academy The Indian Naval Academy (INA or INA Ezhimala) is the Defense (military), defence service training establishment for officer cadre of the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard, located in Ezhimala, Kannur district, Kerala. Situated between Ez ...

Early life and education

Pramod attended the Naval Academy, Goa as part of the 38th Integrated Cadet Course.

Naval career

Pramod was commissioned into the

on 1 July 1990. He is a specialist in Communication and Electronic Warfare. He trained as a

naval aviator Naval aviation / Aeronaval is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. It often involves '' navalised aircraft'', specifically designed for naval use. Seaborne aviation encompas ...

and qualified as a Naval Air Operations Officer. He underwent the Sea King observer course where he qualified as a 'Cat A' observer. He was awarded the

Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command The Eastern Naval Command is one of the three command-level formations of the Indian Navy. It is headquartered in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The command is responsible for the all naval forces in the Bay of Bengal and parts of the Indian Ocea ...

Rolling Trophy for standing first in flying training/ground subjects and the Uttar Pradesh trophy for being first in the Overall Order of Merit. Pramod stood second in the Long Communication Course. In his early years, he served as the Gunnery Officer II (GO II) of the

Khukri-class corvette The ''Khukri''-class corvette , also known as Project 25, is a class of corvettes intended to replace the ageing Petya II-class corvettes of the Indian Navy. The first two were ordered in December 1983 and the remaining in 1985. Around 65% o ...

and as the Signal and Communications officer (SCO) of the Sukanya-class patrol vessel . He also attended the

Defence Services Staff College The Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) is a defence service training institution of the Ministry of Defence, Government of India. It trains officers of all three services of the Indian Armed Forces – (Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air ...

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

. He served as Joint Director of Naval Air Staff and as the Joint Director of Aircraft Acquisition at naval headquarters. Pramod commanded the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships that are all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very comple ...

of her class of

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...

s and the lead ship of her class of Amphibious warfare vessels . He served as the

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...

of the lead ship of her class of

guided missile destroyer A guided-missile destroyer (DDG) is a destroyer whose primary armament is guided missiles so they can provide anti-aircraft warfare screening for the fleet. The NATO standard designation for these vessels is DDG, while destroyers which have a pr ...

s . He then commanded the Shivalik-class

stealth Stealth may refer to: Military *Stealth technology, technology used to conceal ships, aircraft, and missiles **Stealth aircraft, aircraft which use stealth technology ** Stealth ground vehicle, ground vehicles which use stealth technology ** Ste ...

multi-role

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

. He led ''Satpura'' during the International Fleet Review 2016. In the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, he attended the Naval Higher Command Course at the

Naval War College, Goa The Naval War College (NWC) is a premier training institution of the Indian Navy, located in Goa. The college aims at developing leadership qualities of the officers of the Indian Armed Forces at the strategic and operational level. It is one of th ...

. He also served as

Directing Staff Military education and training is a process which intends to establish and improve the capabilities of military personnel in their respective roles. Military training may be voluntary or compulsory duty. It begins with recruit training, proceed ...

at his alma-mater, the

Wellington Cantonment Wellington is a cantonment town in the Coonoor sub-Division of Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu. One of its most famous residents was Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, who died in the town on 27 June 2008. The town is adjacent to the town of Coonoor. ...

. At NHQ, he served as the Director of Aircraft Acquisition. As a

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

, Pramod commanded the Indian naval air station

INS Utkrosh INS Utkrosh , is an Indian naval air station under the joint-services Andaman and Nicobar Command of the Indian Armed Forces. It is located near naval base INS Jarawa on Port Blair, the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It shares ...

Port Blair Port Blair (), officially named Sri Vijaya Puram, is the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India in the Bay of Bengal. It is also the local administrative sub-division (''tehsil'') of the islands, the headqu ...

. He also served as the Fleet Operations Officer of the Western Fleet. He subsequently moved to NHQ having been appointed Principal Director of Aircraft Acquisition.

Flag rank

Pramod was promoted to flag rank in January 2021 and was appointed Deputy Commandant and Chief Instructor of the

on 11 January 2021. After a fourteen-month stint, on 1 April 2022, he moved to Naval headquarters as the Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Air) (ACNS (Air)). In November that year, he was appointed

(FOMA). He took over from Rear Admiral Sandeep Mehta on 28 November 2022. After a year-long tenure, he relinquished charge and handed over to Rear Admiral Manish Chadha. For his tenure as FOMA, he was awarded the

Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM, ) is a military award of India given to recognize "distinguished service of an exceptional order" to all ranks of the armed forces. The award is a peacetime equivalent of Uttam Yuddh Seva Medal, which is a Wartime D ...

on 26 January 2024. In the same month, he was promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral and appointed Director General Naval Operations at NHQ.

Personal life

Pramod is married to Ambili Pramod. The couple has a daughter, Chitranjali, and a son, Siddhanta.

Awards and decorations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pramod, A. N. Indian Navy vice admirals Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Defence Services Staff College alumni Indian naval aviators Deputy Commandants of the Indian Naval Academy Indian Naval Academy alumni Flag Officers Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area