Winning the 'war at sea' on top of new Navy chief Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi's agenda

New Delhi: The new Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh Tripathi on Tuesday said that the blue water force under his command will remain operationally active to 'win the war at sea' when asked to do so by the government.

Admiral Tripathi, who took over from Admiral R Harikumar, would guide the Indian Navy for the next two years amidst increasing turbulence in the Indian Ocean region because of the Israel-Palestine conflicts, rise of piracy and increased footprint of the Chinese navy. He will remain as the Navy Chief till May 2026.

“The existing and emerging challenges in the maritime domain mandate the Indian Navy to remain operationally ready to deter potential adversities at sea in peace and to 'win the war at sea' when asked to do so. That will remain my singular focus and endeavour,” he said in a brief statement soon after assuming the charges as 26^th chief of the Indian Navy.

The navy chief said he would strengthen the ongoing efforts of the Indian Navy towards Aatma Nirbharbharta (self-reliance), towards new technologies.

“My priority will be to upskill our human resource i.e. the men and women of our navy and provide them with the best armament, training, professional environment and administrative support,” he added.

A communication and electronic warfare specialist, he has served on frontline warships of the Navy as Signal Communication Officer and Electronic Warfare Officer and later as the Executive Officer and Principal Warfare Officer of the Guided Missile Destroyer INS Mumbai. The warships he commanded are INS Vinash, INS Kirch and stealth frigate INS Trishul.

Before taking charge, Admiral Tripathi paid tributes to the fallen heroes at the National War Memorial. He was accorded a ceremonial guard of honour at the lawns of the South Block where he took blessings from his mother Rajni Tripathi, who was present at the South Block complex.

An alumnus of the Sainik School Rewa, Admiral Tripathi was serving as the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff before taking the reins of the force. He was commissioned into the executive branch of the Indian Navy on July 1, 1985.

He also served as the Vice Chief of the Indian Navy and the Flag officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command, the sword arm of the Indian Navy.