# 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

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

Lanba was commissioned into the Indian Navy as an officer on 1 January 1978 into the Executive Branch of Indian Navy. He is a Navigation and Direction specialist who has served as the navigation and operations officer onboard various ships in both the Eastern and Western Fleets. He, over four decades, has served as a navigation officer on board INS Sindhudurg and INS Dunagiri before serving as the commanding officer (CO) of various ships: minesweeper INS Kakinada, frigate INS Himgiri, INS Ranvijay and INS Mumbai. Promoted to substantive captain on 1 January 2000, he also served as executive officer of aircraft carrier INS Viraat and the Fleet Operations Officer of the Western Fleet.
He has also held numerous training positions like training officer at the National Defence Academy; Directing Staff at the College of Defence Management; Commandant of the National Defence College and Flag Officer Sea Training organisation at the Local Workup Team (West), Western Naval Command.

### Flag rank

Lanba on being elevated to flag rank, was the Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra and Gujarat Naval Area (FOMAG) and Chief of Staff, Southern Naval Command. On being promoted to vice admiral, he was the Chief of Staff, Eastern Naval Command; Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Southern and Western Naval Commands; Fleet Oper and the Vice Chief of Naval Staff from 2 June 2014 to 30 March 2015.
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.
He took over as the chairman of the chiefs of staff committee (CoSC) from outgoing IAF chief Marshal Arup Raha on 29 December 2016.

### Bilateral visits as CNS

| Country | Date | Purpose |
| 2016 ||||
| Myanmar | 1–4 November | Bilateral discussions with First Vice President, Vice Senior General and Service Chiefs of Army and Navy Visit National Defence College, Defence Services Academy and Naval Training Command |
| Sri Lanka | 27 November – 1 December | Bilateral meetings with President, Prime Minister and 3 Service Chiefs Key note speaker at Galle Dialogue |
| Japan | 19–23 December | Bilateral meetings with Chief of Staff(JMSDF), MoS for Defence, Joint Staff |
| 2017 ||||
| UAE | 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 |
| Oman | 1–2 March | Bilateral meetings with MoS for Defence, Service Chiefs Visit to Sultan Qaboos Naval Academy and Said Bin Naval Base |
| Malaysia | 11–15 April | Bilateral meetings with Deputy Minister of Defence, Chief of Royal Malaysian Defence Forces and the 3 service Chiefs Visit to submarine base and Royal Malaysian Armed Forces Command and Staff College |
| Singapore | 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 |
| Israel | 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 |
| Mozambique | 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 |
| Tanzania | 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 |
| Vietnam | 4–7 October | Bilateral meetings with Prime Minister of Vietnam, Defence Minister, Vice Minister of National Defence, Chief of General Staff and Commander-in-Chief of the Vietnam People's Navy Visit to the National Defence Academy, Vietnam Naval Academy, Naval Region 4 and Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum |
| France | 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 |
| Bangladesh | 26–28 November | Bilateral meetings with Chief of the Naval Staff Attend the International Multilateral Maritime Search and Rescue Exercise (IMMSAREX) |
| 2018 ||||
| Saudi Arabia | 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 |
| United States | 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. |
| Iran | 23–25 April | Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) and Conclave of Chiefs |
| Bangladesh | 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 |
| United States | 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. |
| Russia | 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

| Param Vishisht Seva Medal | Ati Vishisht Seva Medal | Samanya Seva Medal | Special Service Medal |
| Operation Parakram Medal | Sainya Seva Medal | Videsh Seva Medal | 50th Anniversary of Independence Medal |
| 30 Years Long Service Medal | 20 Years Long Service Medal | 9 Years Long Service Medal | Meritorious Service Medal - Military (Singapore) |
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.