Krishna Swaminathan

Rear Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, AVSM, VSM is a serving Flag officer in the Indian Navy. He currently serves as the Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet (FOCWF). Before taking this appointment up, he served as the Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST) at Kochi. He previously served as the second Commanding Officer of the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya.

Rear Admiral Krishna Swaminathan AVSM, VSM
Born	Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Allegiance	India
Service/branch	Indian Navy
Years of service	1987 - present
Rank	Rear Admiral
Commands held	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

Early Life & Education

Krishna was born to D Swaminathan and Shanta Swaminathan, both teachers, in Bangalore. The Swaminathans resided in NR Colony in Basavanagudi. He attended the Bishop Cotton Boys' School until the age of 11. He then attended the Sainik School, Bijapur.[1] He then joined and graduated from the National Defence Academy, Pune.

Naval career

Swaminathan was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 1 July 1987. He is a specialist in Communication and Electronic Warfare. He has completed the staff course at the Joint Services Command and Staff College, Shrivenham in the United Kingdom and the higher command course at the College of Naval Warfare in Mumbai. He has also attended the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island in the United States.

Swaminathan has commanded five front-line ships of the Indian Navy. He has commanded the Veer-class corvettes - INS Vidyut (K48) and INS Vinash (K47), the Kora-class guided-missile corvette INS Kulish (P63) and the Guided missile destroyer INS Mysore (D60).

On 2 November 2015, Swaminathan took command of the flagship of the Indian Navy, the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya (R33) as its second commanding officer.[2][3] He has served on the staff of the Western Fleet, has served as an instructor at the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington. As a Commodore, he served as the Naval Assistant (NA) to the Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Robin K. Dhowan.[4]

Flag rank

On promotion to Flag Rank, Swaminathan took over as the Chief Staff Officer (Training) at the Southern Naval Command, the training command of the Indian Navy. On 18 March 2019, he assumed the office of Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST) at Kochi. As FOST, his charter included the conduct of the operational sea training of all ships of the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard.[5]

Swaminathan took command of the Western Fleet on 14 February 2020 as the Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet.[6][7] For his command of the western fleet, on 26 January 2021, he was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal.[8]

See also

• Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet
• Western Fleet
• INS Vikramaditya

References

1. Rao R., Sunitha. "B'luru boy followed dreams to head INS Vikramaditya". The Times of India.
2. "Captain Krishna Swaminathan takes over Command of Aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya". pib.gov.in.
3. Desk, OneIndia Defence (2 November 2015). "Bengalurian takes over as Commanding Officer of INS Vikramaditya". oneindia.com.
4. "Captain Krishna Swaminathan takes over Command of Aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya". pib.gov.in.
5. "Rear Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, VSM assumes Charge as Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST)". pib.gov.in.
6. "Rear Admiral Krishna D Swaminathan, VSM Assumes Charge as Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet, Mumbai". indiannavy.nic.in.
7. "Bangalorean Navy officer to take over as Fleet Commander of Western Fleet". Deccan Herald. 14 February 2020.
8. "Distinguished Service and Gallantry Award Winners on Republic Day 2021". pib.gov.in.