Rear Admiral Ajay D Theophilus took over the duties of Deputy Commandant,INA

Rear Admiral Ajay D Theophilus took over the duties of Deputy Commandant, Indian Naval Academy from Rear Admiral AN Pramod on 01 April 2022. Rear Admiral Ajay D Theophilus joined the Indian Naval Academy on 28 August 1987 and was commissioned into the Executive Branch on 01 July 1991. The Flag Officer was selected for the pilot's course in June 1992 and upon completing the course, joined the fighter stream. He has flown Kiran, HPT-32, MiG-21, Sea Harrier and MiG-29K aircraft and underwent the Flying Instructors Course in 2001 He has served as an Instructor on Sea Harriers and MiG-29K. The Flag Officer has over 3,000 hrs of flying with 1,000 hrs on Sea Harriers and 700 hrs on MiG29K. He was selected to head the MiG-29K project and after completing the MiG-29K flying training in Russia, commissioned the Squadron in May 2013. He led the team for the trials and testing of MiG 29Ks and later led the squadron for integration with carrier INS Vikramaditya. He was also the Captain (Air), INS Vikramaditya and later commanded INS Talwar followed by INS Tarkash.