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 ...

Ravneet Singh,

PVSM Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: , ) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of India. It is the highest peacetime medal of the Indian Armed Forces, and is awarded for "dist ...

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 former 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 last served as the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff. He assumed office from Vice Admiral Murlidhar Sadashiv Pawar on 1 June 2021 following his retirement. Previously, he served as the Chief of Personnel (COP) and as the

Director General Project Seabird The Director General of Project Seabird (DG Seabird) is a senior appointment in the Indian Navy with the rank of Vice Admiral. The DG heads the Seabird Project with a charter to oversee the largest defence infrastructure project progressing at the ...

. He has also 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 ...

from October 2015 to October 2016.

Early life and education

Singh was born in

Jalandhar Jalandhar () is a city in the state of Punjab, India, Punjab in India. With a considerable population, it ranks as the List of cities in Punjab and Chandigarh by population, third most-populous city in the state and is the largest city in the ...

Punjab, India Punjab () is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab, Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the States and union territories of India, Indian states ...

. He graduated from 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 ...

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

Naval career

Singh was commissioned into the

on 1 July 1983. 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 ...

, he completed the Flying Instructors course at the

Flying Instructors School The Central Flying School (CFS) is the Royal Air Force's primary institution for the training of military flying instructors. Established in 1912 at the Upavon Aerodrome, it is the longest existing flying training school in the world. The sch ...

Tambaram Air Force Station Tambaram Air Force Station is an Indian Air Force airfield in Tambaram, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-l ...

, the staff course at 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 ...

and the Harrier Conversion Course at

RAF Wittering Royal Air Force Wittering or more simply RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire. Although Stamford in Lincolnshire ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He has also attended the Project Management Programme at

Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM Ahmedabad or IIM-A), is a business school, located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It is one of the Indian Institutes of Management and was accorded the status of an Institute of National Impor ...

. Singh has commanded the Nilgiri-class

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 ...

and the Rajput-class

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 and . Since he is a naval aviator, Singh has also commanded the

Naval air squadron A naval air squadron (NAS) is the title of naval aviation squadrons in some countries. Poland The Polish ''Morski Dywizjon Lotniczy'' #Naval Air Squadron# was formed in 1920 with two ''Escadrille''s# United Kingdom The squadrons of the Fleet A ...

INAS 300 The INAS 300 is the longest serving combat unit of the Indian Navy, based at INS Hansa. History The White Tigers were commissioned on 7 July 1959 at RNAS Brawdy, United Kingdom with the Indian High Commissioner to UK, Vijay Laxmi Pandit, i ...

and

INAS 551 The INAS 551 is an Indian naval air squadron based at INS Dega, Visakhapatnam. History In its early form the squadron existed as the Naval Jet Flight (NJF) at Sulur, which was set up in September 1957 and was equipped with four Vampire aircr ...

. He has also commanded the premier Naval Air Base

INS Hansa INS Hansa, is an Indian naval air station located near Dabolim in Goa, India. Data current as of October 2006. It is India's biggest naval airbase. The military air base has a civil enclave, that operates as Dabolim Airport. History ''INS ...

. Singh has also 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 Durg-class corvette and the Delhi-class

. Singh is a

fighter pilot A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a Military aviation, military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, Air-to-ground weaponry, air-to-ground combat and sometimes Electronic-warfare aircraft, electronic warfare while in the cockpit of ...

and a

Qualified Flying Instructor A Qualified Flying Instructor is someone who is qualified to conduct flight training for pilots. They may also have other roles in aviation, such as aircraft certification and flight reviews, depending on the jurisdiction. Every country has its own ...

with a Master Green Instrument rating. He has over 2500 flying hours on 10 different types of aircraft. As a commander, when serving as a pilot on board , he was awarded the

Nao Sena Medal Nau Sena Medal (also spelt ''Nao Sena Medal'', lit. ''Navy Medal'') is a gallantry award for servicemen in the Indian Navy. History The Nau Sena Medal was instituted on 26 January 1960 by the Government of India, with the approval of the Presid ...

for gallantry. He has also served as the Indian Defence Advisor in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

and

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...

Flag rank

On promotion to Flag Rank, Singh took over as the Assistant Controller Carrier Project (ACCP) at Naval HQ. He served as the Assistant Controller Warship Production & Acquisition (ACWP&A) when 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 ...

was inducted and commissioned. Singh then dual-hatted as the

Flag Officer Commanding Goa Naval Area Flag Officer Commanding Goa Naval Area (FOGA) is a senior appointment in the Indian Navy. One of the five Area Commanders of the Indian Navy, the FOGA is a Two-star rank, two star admiral holding the rank of Rear admiral (India), Rear Admiral. The ...

(FOGA) and Flag Officer Naval Aviation (FONA). Singh assumed the office of the

on 12 October 2015, from

R. Hari Kumar. 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 2017. Singh then served as the Chief of Staff of the

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 ...

and as the

. On 2 December 2019, Singh took over as the Chief of Personnel, a Principal Staff Officer (PSO) appointment at Naval HQ and served till 31 May 2021. He is succeeded by

Dinesh K Tripathi Admiral (India), Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, Param Vishisht Seva Medal, PVSM, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, AVSM, Nau Sena Medal, NM (born 15 May 1964) is a serving four star flag officer of the Indian Navy. He is the current and the 26th Chief of ...

. He took over as Deputy Chief of Naval Staff on 1 June 2021.

Awards and decorations

References

Bibliography