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 ...

Ajay Kochhar,

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 ...

, NM 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 currently serves as the Chief of Staff,

Western Naval Command The Western Naval Command is one of the three command–level formations of the Indian Navy. It is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. As the senior–most of the three formations, the command is responsible for the all naval forces in the A ...

. He last served as the

Commandant Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...

of the

National Defence Academy The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces. Here, cadets of the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force train together before they go on to their respective service a ...

. He earlier served as the

Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet (FOCWF) is the title of the Indian Navy Officer who commands the Western Fleet, headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The FOCWF is a two star admiral holding the rank of Rear Admiral. The appointment is consi ...

and prior to that was the third

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

of the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

INS Vikramaditya INS ''Vikramaditya'' ()Literally ''Vikramaditya'' translates as being "Sun (Aditya) of valour" (Vikram). The component ''āditya'' (sun) literally means "he who belongs to Aditi". It was the title of the most famous Indian king in Indian histo ...

Naval career

Kochhar was commissioned into the

on 1 July 1988. He is a specialist in Gunnery and Missile Warfare. He has commanded five

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is used for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the navy branch of the armed forces of a nation, though they have also been operated by individuals, cooperatives and corporations. As well as b ...

s of the Indian Navy. On 29 June 2013, as the commissioning

of the Talwar-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 ...

guided missile 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 commissioned the ship in

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...

, Russia. On 20 July 2017, Kochhar took command of the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

of the Indian Navy, the

as its third

Flag rank

On promotion to Flag Rank, Kochhar took over as the Assistant Controller Carrier Project (ACCP) at Naval headquarters. He then served as the Assistant Controller Warship Production & Acquisition (ACWP&A). As the ACCP, he managed the construction of the indigenous aircraft carrier. In his role as ACWP&A, he oversaw all aspects related to construction and acquisition of warships for the Navy both from Indian as well as foreign shipyards. Kochhar took command of the Western Fleet on 24 February 2021 as the

from Rear Admiral Krishna Swaminathan. For his command of the Western fleet, 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 2022. On 1 April 2022, Kochhar took over as the

Commandant of the National Defence Academy The Commandant of the National Defence Academy is the head and overall in-charge of the National Defence Academy. The Commandant of the Academy is a Three-star rank officer from the three Services in rotation. He is supported by the Deputy C ...

from Air Marshal Sanjeev Kapoor. After a two-year stint, he was appointed Chief of Staff,

Awards and decorations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kochhar, Ajay Indian Navy vice admirals Living people Flag Officers Commanding Western Fleet Year of birth missing (living people) Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Nau Sena Medal Defence Services Staff College alumni Naval War College, Goa alumni Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies Commandants of the National Defence Academy

Naval career

Flag rank

Awards and decorations

See also

References