Sudarshan Y. Shrikhande

Rear Admiral Shrikhande AVSM, retired in 2016 after 36 years in the Indian Navy. In flag rank he headed Naval Intelligence and Foreign Cooperation as ACNS (FCI). Subsequently, he was Chief of Staff/SNC. He later served in HQIDS heading Financial Planning and also with the Strategic Forces Command, retiring as Flag Office Doctrines and Concepts. From 2005-2008 he was the Defence Adviser at the Indian High Commission in Canberra, Australia, with concurrent accreditation to Fiji, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Tonga. He is an adjunct professor at the Indian Naval War College, Goa and earlier with the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru. He is the inaugural Editor-in-Chief of the Indian Naval Despatch since 2020.  From March 2023, he is an Honorary Senior Fellow at the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, University of Wollongong. He has submitted a PhD on sea-based nuclear deterrence in November 2023. He was awarded the Ati Vashisht Sena Medal in 2015.