Commissioned into the Navy in July 1988, Vice Admiral Kochhar is a specialist in gunnery and missile systems | He hails from Karnal in Haryana

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

Newly-appointed Vice Chief of the Naval Staff Vice Admiral Ajay Kochhar (L) with outgoing VCNS Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan during the Guard of Honour at South Block Lawn in New Delhi on Friday. PTI

The process of change at the top of the military hierarchy commenced on Friday with Vice Admiral Ajay Kochhar assuming charge as the Vice Chief of the Navy.

The new Chief of Defence Staff, Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani, and the next Navy Chief, Vice Admiral K Swaminathan, will assume their respective appointments on Sunday. Meanwhile, on Saturday, Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan will take over as the new commander of the Western Naval Command in Mumbai.

Current CDS Gen Anil Chauhan and Navy Chief Admiral DK Tripathi are scheduled to superannuate on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. In the Army, Gen Upendra Dwivedi is slated to retire as Army Chief on June 30.

Vice Admiral Kochhar, who hails from Karnal in Haryana and is the son of a former engineer with the Haryana Irrigation Department, laid a wreath at the National War Memorial in New Delhi after assuming office.

Vice Admiral Kochhar was at the centre of planning the Navy’s response during Operation Sindoor while serving in Mumbai. The Ministry of Defence said, “He spearheaded the Command’s response to conventional and non-traditional threats along the Western Seaboard, including high-tempo naval operations during Operation Sindoor.”

Commissioned into the Navy in July 1988, Vice Admiral Kochhar is a specialist in gunnery and missile systems.

He has commanded naval ships INS Nashak, INS Vibhuti and INS Kirpan, and was the commissioning commanding officer of the frigate INS Trikand. He also commanded the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, during whose tenure the carrier successfully completed the integration and operationalisation of its air wing.