Rear Admiral Sundeep S Randhawa, VSM, assumed charge as the 28th Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST) on October 1, 2026, following his promotion to Flag Rank.
An alumnus of the Naval Academy, Goa, Rear Admiral Randhawa was commissioned into the Indian Navy on July 1, 1996. He has also undergone 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.
Rear Admiral Randhawa has held a range of command and staff appointments during his naval career. His appointments have included Commodore Naval Operations at Naval Headquarters and Director-level responsibilities at the Department of Military Affairs, Ministry of Defence.
His extensive sea-going experience includes appointments aboard the minesweeper INS Bhavnagar, missile corvette INS Kirch, aircraft carrier INS Viraat and P15 destroyer INS Delhi. He has also held command appointments on the Dvora-class Fast Attack Craft INFAC T80, missile vessel INS Nashak and the indigenous Kolkata-class destroyer INS Chennai.
Rear Admiral Randhawa has the distinction of being the commissioning Executive Officer of the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya. His sea-going experience therefore includes service across different categories of Indian Navy platforms, ranging from fast attack craft and missile vessels to destroyers and aircraft carriers.
His shore appointments have included 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. His professional experience has therefore covered naval operations, navigation, training, planning and command responsibilities.
Rear Admiral Randhawa 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. He completed the Advanced Command and Staff Course at the Joint Services Command and Staff College, Shrivenham, during 2008–09 and the Naval Command Course at the US Naval War College, Newport, during 2016–17.
He has also received commendations from the Chief of the Naval Staff and the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief.
Before his elevation to Flag Rank and appointment as the 28th Flag Officer Sea Training, Rear Admiral Randhawa served as Commodore Naval Operations at Naval Headquarters. In that appointment, he also participated in professional engagements focused on maritime operational requirements.
As Commodore Naval Operations, 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 appointment as Flag Officer Sea Training brings together his experience in naval operations, sea command, navigation, training and senior staff appointments. The FOST appointment places him in a key position associated with the Indian Navy’s sea-training framework and operational preparedness.
Rear Admiral Randhawa assumed charge as the 28th Flag Officer Sea Training on October 1, 2026, upon his promotion to Flag Rank.
