Flag Officer Commanding Karnataka Naval Area

Flag Officer Commanding Karnataka Naval Area (FOK)
Flag of the FOK (Rear Admiral's flag)
Incumbent Rear Admiral K. M. Ramakrishnan, VSM since 1 April 2023
Indian Navy
Abbreviation	FOK
Reports to	Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command
Seat	Karwar
First holder	Commodore K. P. Ramachandran (as COMINKAR)

Flag Officer Commanding Karnataka Naval Area (FOK) is a senior appointment in the Indian Navy. One of the five Area Commanders of the Indian Navy, the FOK is a two star admiral holding the rank of Rear Admiral. The FOK is responsible for the operations and administration of all units and establishments in Karnataka, including the Naval Base Karwar. The Current FOK is Rear Admiral K. M. Ramakrishnan, VSM, who assumed office on 1 April 2023.

History

In 1999, following Pokhran-II, then Defence Minister George Fernandes approved Project Seabird to pursue the construction of the new naval base at Karwar in the state of Karnataka. The first phase of construction of the base was completed in 2005 and the base was commissioned on 31 May 2005.^[1]

Headquarters Karnataka Naval Area (HQKNA) thus came into being on 31 May 2005. Commodore K. P. Ramachandran, VSM was appointed the first Commodore-in-Charge Karwar (COMINKAR). The COMINKAR also discharged the duties of Naval Officer-in-Charge Karnataka (NOIC (KTK)) and Commanding Officer INS Kadamba. After three incumbents serving as COMINKAR, the billet was upgraded to two-star rank and rechristened Flag Officer Commanding Karnataka Naval Area (FOK) in 2011. Rear Admiral Atul Kumar Jain was the first FOK who took over on 3 October 2011.^[2]

Organisation

The FOK is assisted by the NOIC (KTK), a one-star appointment. The NOIC (KTK) also serves as the Chief Staff Officer at Headquarters Karnataka Naval Area (HQKNA). The FOK is responsible to the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command for the operations and administration of all units and establishments in Karnataka. This includes all ships and submarines based at the Karwar Naval Base as well.^[3]^[4] The establishments under the FOK include:^[5]

The Naval Base Karwar INS Kadamba
The naval hospital INHS Patanjali
The missile and ammunition base INS Vajrakosh
Naval Ship Repair Yard (NSRY) Karwar
Sagar Prahari Bal, Karwar

List of Commanders

S.No.	Name	Assumed office	Left office	Notes
Commodore-in-Charge Karwar (COMINKAR)
1	Commodore K. P. Ramachandran VSM	31 May 2005	26 April 2007	First COMINKAR.
2	Commodore C. G. Silar Khan VSM	27 April 2007	31 August 2009	^[6]
3	Commodore Rajiv Jaswal	1 September 2009	3 October 2011	^[7]
Flag Officer Commanding Karnataka Naval Area (FOK)
4	Rear Admiral Atul Kumar Jain VSM	3 October 2011	8 August 2013	First FOK. Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command and Chief of Integrated Defence Staff.^[8]^[9]
5	Rear Admiral C. S. Murthy NM	10 August 2013	26 March 2015	^[10]
6	Rear Admiral Satishkumar Namdeo Ghormade NM	27 March 2015	18 October 2015	Later Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.^[11]^[12]
7	Rear Admiral Ravindra Jayant Nadkarni VSM	19 October 2015	11 October 2016	Later Flag Officer Defence Advisory Group.^[13]^[14]
8	Rear Admiral K. J. Kumar VSM	11 October 2016	29 March 2019	Later Flag Officer Commanding Tamil Nadu & Puducherry Naval Area.^[15]
9	Rear Admiral Mahesh Singh NM	30 March 2019	19 December 2021	Later Flag Officer Defence Advisory Group.^[16]
10	Rear Admiral Atul Anand VSM	20 December 2021	30 March 2023	Current Additional Secretary of the Department of Military Affairs.^[17]
11	Rear Admiral K. M. Ramakrishnan VSM	1 April 2023	Present	Current FOK.^[3]

References

^ "INS Kadamba". Indian Navy. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
^ Doraibabu & Godbole 2023, p. 474.
^ ^a ^b "Rear Admiral KM Ramakrishnan takes charge as Flag Officer of Karnataka Naval Area". deccanchronicle.com. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
^ "Change of Command - Flag Officer Commanding Karnataka Naval Area (FOK) | Indian Navy". indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
^ "WNC Authorities & Units | Indian Navy". indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
^ "Key installations make the coast vulnerable". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
^ "Phase-I work of Naval Base in full swing". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
^ "Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain taking over as Chief of Staff, Eastern Naval Command". indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
^ "Naval bicycle expedition". The Times of India. 19 March 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
^ "Karwar: Rear Admiral C S Murthy, former Director General, Sea Bird assumed command as the Flag Officer Commanding Karnataka Naval Area". The Times of India. 11 August 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
^ "Karnataka shows interest in 'INS Viraat' museum". BusinessLine. 21 July 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
^ "Dakshina Kannada district sent a proposal to government of Karnataka with reference to Rear Admiral SN Ghormade, NM, Flag Officer Commanding, Headquarters, Karnataka Naval Area, Karwar, for the setting up of Aircraft Carrier Museum for INS VIRAAT at Mangaluru after its deconmissioning". The Times of India. 21 July 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
^ "Visit of Dr Ashton Carter, Secretary of Defense, USA to Karwar". indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
^ "Naval Base Visit - Make in India impresses US defence secy". The Times of India. 12 April 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
^ "Joint HADR Exercise commences at Naval Station Karwar". indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
^ "Radm Mahesh Singh takes over as Flag Officer Commanding Karnataka Area". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
^ "Change of Command - Flag Officer Commanding Karnataka Naval Area (FOK)". indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 7 September 2023.

Bibliography

Doraibabu, M; Godbole, Amrut (2023), A Decade of Transformation: The Indian Navy 2011-2021, Harper Collins Publishers India, ISBN 9789394407909

Indian Navy

Leadership

Minister of Defence
Chief of the Naval Staff
Vice Chief of the Naval Staff
FOCs-in-C (Naval Commanders)
DCNS
COP
COM
FOCWF
FOCEF
FOMA
FOGNA
FOK
FOTNA
FODAG
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FOST
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Serving admirals
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Components
and
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Naval Commands

Operational	Western Naval Command Eastern Naval Command Southern Naval Command
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Fleets

Western Fleet
Eastern Fleet

Bases

New Delhi	INS India
Western Naval Command	INS Dwarka INS Sardar Patel INS Kadamba INS Vajrakosh INHS Patanjali INS Gomantak INS Hansa INHS Jeevanti INS Angre INS Abhimanyu INS Agnibahu INHS Asvini INS Kunjali INS Shikra INS Tanaji INS Trata INS Tunir INS Vajrabahu
Southern Naval Command	INS Dweeprakshak INS Minicoy INS Androth INS Bitra INS Garuda INHS Sanjivani INS Venduruthy INS Dronacharya INS Chilka INHS Nivrani INS Mandovi INS Hamla INS Shivaji INHS Kasturi INS Valsura INS Agrani INS Zamorin INS Satavahana INS Vishwakarma INS Jatayu
Eastern Naval Command	INS Circars INS Dega INS Virbahu INHS Kalyani INS Kalinga INS Eksila INS Karna INS Adyar INS Rajali INS Parundu INS Kattabomman INS Tuticorin INS Netaji Subhash INS Paradip INS Bhubaneswar INS Varsha
Andaman and Nicobar Command	INS Kardip INS Jarawa INS Utkrosh INS Baaz INHS Dhanvantari INS Campbell Bay INS Kohassa

Equipment

Aircraft Squadrons

Fighter	300 303
Airborne Early Warning (AEW)	339
Anti-submarine (ASW)	330 333 336
Reconnaissance	342 343 344
Maritime patrol	312 315 318 550 313
Electronic Warfare	310 311
Multirole helicopter	322 323 334 350
Search & Rescue	321
Training	551 552 561

Military Academies

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