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RAdm Sudarshan Y Shrikhande AVSM, IN (Retd), PhD
RAdm Shrikhande is a 1979 graduate of the National Defence Academy. His qualifications include a Master's in Weapon and Sonar Engineering from the Soviet Naval War College, (1985-88); MSc Indian Staff College (1995), MPhil from the Indian Naval War College and highest distinction from the US Naval War College (2003) and a PhD from Mumbai University (June 2025) for his thesis on sea-based nuclear deterrence for nuclear deterrence stability for India.
He has commanded three IN Ships, Nishank, Kora, and Rajput, after a long tenure as the anti-submarine warfare officer aboard a destroyer. He has also served as the executive officer of INS Delhi. He has been defence attaché in Australia and four other South Pacific nations. Ashore, he has held a variety of operational and training assignments, including serving as an instructor at AW School; Commander, War Room, NHQ; Director, INTEG; and as an inaugural selectee member of the IN Strategy and Operations Council from 2008 to 2011. In flag rank, he served as Chief of Naval Intelligence, Chief of Staff, SNC, Joint HQ staff duties, and as Flag Officer, Doctrines and Concepts, in the Nuclear Forces Command.
In retirement since 2016, he is a visiting professor at several institutions, including NDC, CDM, Staff and War colleges, spanning strategy, operational art, RMA, Arthashastra, the Peloponnesian War, Indo-Pacific geopolitics, leadership and ethics, and Atmanirbharta/Self-Reliance in defence production. He has participated in Track 2 discussions with some countries, attended various national/international conferences and workshops, and written for national and international journals. He was the inaugural editor-in-chief of the Indian Naval Despatch from 2020-May 2026 and a regular contributor to the USNI Proceedings magazine since 2018. He is a visiting professor at the Naval War College, Goa; an Honorary Senior Fellow with ANCORS, Wollongong University, NSW, as well as having been the inaugural Maitri Fellow in 2024 with them; a Distinguished Fellow at the Australia-India Institute, University of Melbourne and, from June 2026, a visiting professor of practice with IIT Bombay.
He has commanded three IN Ships, Nishank, Kora, and Rajput, after a long tenure as the anti-submarine warfare officer aboard a destroyer. He has also served as the executive officer of INS Delhi. He has been defence attaché in Australia and four other South Pacific nations. Ashore, he has held a variety of operational and training assignments, including serving as an instructor at AW School; Commander, War Room, NHQ; Director, INTEG; and as an inaugural selectee member of the IN Strategy and Operations Council from 2008 to 2011. In flag rank, he served as Chief of Naval Intelligence, Chief of Staff, SNC, Joint HQ staff duties, and as Flag Officer, Doctrines and Concepts, in the Nuclear Forces Command.
In retirement since 2016, he is a visiting professor at several institutions, including NDC, CDM, Staff and War colleges, spanning strategy, operational art, RMA, Arthashastra, the Peloponnesian War, Indo-Pacific geopolitics, leadership and ethics, and Atmanirbharta/Self-Reliance in defence production. He has participated in Track 2 discussions with some countries, attended various national/international conferences and workshops, and written for national and international journals. He was the inaugural editor-in-chief of the Indian Naval Despatch from 2020-May 2026 and a regular contributor to the USNI Proceedings magazine since 2018. He is a visiting professor at the Naval War College, Goa; an Honorary Senior Fellow with ANCORS, Wollongong University, NSW, as well as having been the inaugural Maitri Fellow in 2024 with them; a Distinguished Fellow at the Australia-India Institute, University of Melbourne and, from June 2026, a visiting professor of practice with IIT Bombay.
Hangors in the Bay: Pakistan’s Submarine Strategy Unfolds
Editor’s Note
Pakistan’s Hangor-class submarines could alter the underwater balance in the Indian Ocean, particularly if deployed into the Bay of Bengal. Their potential nuclear...
