Rear Admiral Sudhir Pillai

Rear Admiral Sudhir Pillai graduated with the 56th Course of the National Defence Academy and was commissioned into the Executive Branch of the Indian Navy on 01 July 1980. He specialised as a Naval Aviator and Qualified Flying Instructor, and was combat-qualified on the Seaking multirole helicopter, with operational flying experience from both aircraft carriers and smaller warships.

Over a 37-year naval career, he held key operational and staff appointments at sea and ashore. His commands included two guided missile destroyers (INS Mysore and INS Ranjit), the frigate INS Udaygiri, the Coast Guard patrol vessel CGS Ganga Devi, the naval air station INS Garuda, and the Marine Commando Flight. He also served at Naval Headquarters as Director Naval Air Staff, and at Headquarters Naval Aviation as Chief Staff Officer (Air).

He was awarded the Nau Sena Medal for gallantry for a life-saving medical evacuation mission in Antarctica. While commanding INS Mysore, he led an anti-piracy operation in the Gulf of Aden, capturing pirates and protecting merchant shipping under attack. The ship was subsequently commended by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for its contribution to maritime security.

Promoted to Flag Rank in 2009, he served as Flag Officer Naval Aviation, Flag Officer Commanding Goa Naval Area, and Chief of Staff at the tri-service Headquarters Andaman and Nicobar Command. He retired in 2017 after serving as Chief Instructor (Navy) at the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington.

In addition to professional expertise in naval aviation and joint operations, his academic focus has been on Joint Military Organisation, Professional Military Education, and Military Operational Law, with a sustained interest in Jointness in all its complexity, and the institutional challenges it presents across command structures, planning frameworks, and inter-service coordination.

Since 2015, he has conducted Critical Thinking capsules for the faculty and students at DSSC Wellington and the Naval War College. He also serves as a Resource Person at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, where he lectures on military administrative and operational law.

He was nominated to the Raksha Mantri’s Advisory Committee on the Ministry of Defence Capital Projects (RMPCOMP) and to a DRDO Committee for review and development of the LCA Mk 1A. He continues to contribute to public discourse on national and maritime security, with a particular emphasis on critical thinking, strategic clarity, and the advancement of professional military education.

He is a Fellow of the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, Hawaii, and a graduate of the Naval Higher Command Course and the National Defence College, New Delhi.