Rear Admiral Sundeep S Randhawa Takes Over as 28th Flag Officer Sea Training

Rear Admiral Sundeep S Randhawa, VSM, took charge as the 28th Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST) on October 1, 2026, after being promoted to Flag Rank. The appointment places him at the centre of the Indian Navy’s sea-training framework, a post closely linked to operational readiness and professional standards at sea.

An alumnus of the Naval Academy, Goa, Rear Admiral Randhawa was commissioned into the Indian Navy on July 1, 1996. His career includes advanced professional military education in India, the United Kingdom and the United States, reflecting a service record that has combined operational command with staff and training responsibilities.

He completed the Advanced Command and Staff Course at the Joint Services Command and Staff College, Shrivenham, UK, and the Naval Command Course at the US Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island. He also holds an MPhil in Defence and Strategic Studies from the University of Mumbai and a Master’s degree in Defence Studies from King’s College London. The source notes that he completed the Advanced Command and Staff Course during 2008–09 and the Naval Command Course during 2016–17.

Rear Admiral Randhawa’s naval career has included a wide range of command and staff appointments. These have included Commodore Naval Operations at Naval Headquarters and Director-level responsibilities at the Department of Military Affairs, Ministry of Defence. Before his elevation to Flag Rank and his present appointment as FOST, he was serving as Commodore Naval Operations at Naval Headquarters.

During that assignment, he also took part in professional engagements related to maritime operational requirements. In one such engagement, he delivered a session during Professional Session IV of the Second NMF-KAS Symposium on “Operational and Material Stretch for Maritime Forces resulting from Coastal Inundation and Salinization”.

His sea-going experience spans several Indian Navy platforms across different classes of warships. He has served aboard the minesweeper INS Bhavnagar, the missile corvette INS Kirch, the aircraft carrier INS Viraat and the P15 destroyer INS Delhi. He has also held command appointments on the Dvora-class Fast Attack Craft INFAC T80, the missile vessel INS Nashak and the indigenous Kolkata-class destroyer INS Chennai.

Among these appointments, Rear Admiral Randhawa holds the distinction of being the commissioning Executive Officer of the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya. His service record therefore covers a broad spectrum of platforms, from fast attack craft and missile vessels to destroyers and aircraft carriers.

His shore appointments have been equally varied. They have included service as Flag Lieutenant to the Chief of the Naval Staff, Staff Officer (Navigation and Direction) at Headquarters, Flag Officer Sea Training, Command Plans Officer at Headquarters, Directing Staff at the Naval War College, Goa, and Officer-in-Charge of the Navigation and Direction School at Kochi.

He is a qualified Ship’s Diver and a specialist in Navigation and Aircraft Direction. According to the source, his professional experience has covered naval operations, navigation, training, planning and command responsibilities.

Rear Admiral Randhawa has also received commendations from the Chief of the Naval Staff and the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief.

His appointment as the 28th Flag Officer Sea Training brings together experience accumulated across operations at sea, command at the tactical level, staff appointments at Naval Headquarters and training-related roles. With the FOST posting, he assumes a role central to the Navy’s sea-training and operational preparedness ecosystem.

Rear Admiral Randhawa assumed charge as the 28th Flag Officer Sea Training on October 1, 2026, following his promotion to Flag Rank.