Sunil Lanba

Admiral Sunil Lanba, PVSM, AVSM, PJG, ADC (born 17 July 1957 ) is a retired Indian naval officer who served as the 23rd Chief of the Naval Staff of the Indian Navy. He assumed the office on 31 May 2016 after Admiral Robin K. Dhowan and demitted office three years later on 31 May 2019. During this time, he also served as Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee and Honorary Aide-de-Camp to the President of India.

Early life and education Sunil Lanba was born on 17 July 1957 and hails from Palwal district, Haryana. He attended Mayo College, Ajmer; National Defence Academy, Pune; Defence Services Staff College, Wellington; College of Defence Management, Secunderabad and Royal College of Defence Studies, London, and is a post-graduate in Defence and Management studies.

Military career National Defence College Commandant Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba gives U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond T. Odierno a tour of the college's archive display Lanba was commissioned into the Indian Navy as an officer on 1 January 1978 into the Executive Branch of Indian Navy. Promoted to substantive captain on 1 January 2000, he also served as executive officer of aircraft carrier and the Fleet Operations Officer of the Western Fleet.

On 5 May 2016, the Union Government announced that Lanba will take charge as the Chief of the Naval Staff on 31 May 2016, replacing Admiral Robin K. Dhowan who retired the same day. 27 November – 1 December Bilateral meetings with President, Prime Minister and 3 Service Chiefs Key note speaker at Galle Dialogue 19–23 December Bilateral meetings with Chief of Staff(JMSDF), MoS for Defence, Joint Staff

26–28 February Bilateral meetings with MoS for Defence, Chief of Staff, Commander of Naval force Visit to Ghantoot Naval Base, National Defence College (UAE) and Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum Naval College 1–2 March Bilateral meetings with MoS for Defence, Service Chiefs Visit to Sultan Qaboos Naval Academy and Said Bin Naval Base 15 May – 19 May Bilateral meetings with Defence Minister, Chief of Defence Forces, Chief of Navy Attend International Maritime Review (IMR) and International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (IMDEX) 2017 12–15 June Bilateral meetings with Defence Minister, Chief of General Staff, Commander-in-Chief of Israeli Navy, Commander of Israeli Air Force and Commander of Israeli Ground Forces Visit to Haifa Naval Base and other military establishments 23–25 July Bilateral meetings with Minister of National Defence, Chief of Defence Staff, and the three service Chiefs Visit to Instituto Superior De Estudos De Defesa (ISEDEF) and Hero's Square 26–30 July Bilateral meetings with President of Tanzania, Minister of Defence and National Service, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chief of Defence Forces and the three service Chiefs Visit to the Command and Staff College 5–10 November Bilateral meetings with Defence Minister of France, Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of French Navy, Director General Armament and Director General International Relations & Strategy Visit to the Landivisia airbase, Submarine Facility at Cherbourg, Maritime Prefectures at Brest and Cherbourg 26–28 November Bilateral meetings with Chief of the Naval Staff Attend the International Multilateral Maritime Search and Rescue Exercise (IMMSAREX)

4–8 February Bilateral meetings with Deputy Defence Minister, Chief of General Staff, Commanders of Royal Saudi Naval Forces, Royal Saudi Arabian Land Forces, Air Forces and Air Defence Forces Visit to the Naval Operations Centre, Naval Fire and Rescue School and Western Fleet at Jeddah 19–23 March Bilateral meetings with Secretary of Defence, Secretary of the Navy, Vice Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff, Chief of Naval Operations, Commander of Pacific command, Commander of Pacific fleet, Commander of Naval Sea Systems Command Visit to the Pacific Command Headquarters at Pearl Harbor, Naval Surface Warfare Centre at Dahlgreen and the Pentagon. 23–25 April Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) and Conclave of Chiefs 24–29 June Bilateral meetings with President, Prime Minister and Chiefs of Armed Forces Visit to naval bases at Chittagong and Khulna Inaugurate the India–Bangladesh CORPAT, 1st edition 18-22 September Visit 23rd edition of the International Seapower Symposium (ISS) Bilateral meetings with Chief of the Naval Staff; Chief of Naval Operations (CNO); Commanders of Indo-Pacific Command, Pacific Fleet and Naval Forces-Europe, NAVCENT, and 5th Fleet Bilateral meetings with Chiefs of Navies of France, Sweden, United Kingdom, Japan, Australia and Malaysia. 26-29 November Bilateral meetings with Commander-in-Chief of Russian Navy, Chief of General Staff, First Deputy Defence Minister, Director, Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation (FSMTC). Visit to Military Academy of the General Staff, Piskarev Memorial Cemetery, Nakhimov Naval School and Admiralty Shipyard at St Petersburg and Moscow. Awards and decorations

He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal (Military) of Singapore on 8 September 2022. He was awarded for his outstanding contributions in enhancing the strong and long-standing bilateral defence relationship between the Indian Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy. Admiral Lanba became the first Indian to receive this award.

Personal life He is married to Reena Lanba who is a qualified teacher and a home-maker. They have two daughters, named Moneesha and Sukriti, and a son named Adhiraj.