VAdm Krishna Swaminathan assumed charge as COP on 06 Oct 2023. The Flag Officer was Commissioned into Indian Navy on 01 Jul 87 and is a specialist in Communication and Electronic Warfare. He is an alumnus of NDA, Khadakvasla; the Joint Services Command and Staff College, Shrivenham, United Kingdom; the College of Naval Warfare, Karanja; and United States Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, USA. A recipient of AVSM and VSM, the Admiral has held several key operational, staff and training appointments in his naval career including the command of missile vessels INS Vidyut and INS Vinash; the missile corvette INS Kulish; the guided missile destroyer INS Mysore and the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya. On promotion to the Flag rank, he served as CSO(Training) at Headquarters SNC, Kochi and played a key role in the conduct of all training in Indian Navy. He was also instrumental in raising Indian Navy Safety Team that oversees operational safety across all verticals of the Navy. He then went on to head the work up organisation of Navy as FOST, after which he was privileged to be appointed as FOCWF. After commanding the Sword Arm, he was appointed Flag Officer Offshore Defence Advisory Group and Advisor Offshore Security and Defence to GOI, and thereafter as COS of WNC. The Flag Officer was later CPS at NHQ, a position he held till assuming his current assignment. Admiral Swaminathan's educational qualifications include a BSc degree from JNU, New Delhi; MSc in Telecommunications from CUSAT, Kochi; MA in Defence Studies from King's College, London; MPhil in Strategic Studies from Mumbai University; and PhD in International Studies from Mumbai University.
