Commander-in-Chief, Strategic Forces Command

Commander-in-Chief, Strategic Forces Command
Incumbent Vice Admiral Suraj Berry AVSM NM VSM since 6 October 2023
Reports to	Chief of the Defence Staff
Seat	New Delhi
Appointer	Appointments Committee of the Cabinet
Formation	2003
First holder	Air Marshal Tej Mohan Asthana PVSM AVSM VM

The Commander-in-Chief, Strategic Forces Command is the head of the Strategic Forces Command, the integrated tri-service command responsible for the management and administration of India's tactical and strategic nuclear weapons stockpile.

The current Commander-in-Chief is Vice Admiral Suraj Berry who took command on 6 October 2023 as the 13th CinC SFC.

History

The Strategic Forces Command (SFC) was created on 4 January 2003 by the Government of India under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Part of the Nuclear Command Authority, the SFC manages and administers all strategic forces by exercising complete command and control over nuclear assets. ^[1]

The Cabinet Committee on Security approved the appointment of a Commander-in-Chief, Strategic Forces Command, to manage and administer all Strategic Forces. ^[2] Air Marshal Teja Mohan Asthana was appointed the first commander-in-chief. ^{[3] [4]}

Organisation

The CinC SFC is a Three-star rank officer from the three Services in rotation. The CinC reports directly to the Chief of Defence Staff (India) (CDS). He is assisted by the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the command, also a three-star officer.

List of commanders

List of Commanders-in-Chief of Strategic Forces Command

S.No	Rank	Name	Branch	Assumed office	Left office	Notes
1	Air Marshal	Tej Mohan Asthana	Indian Air Force	10 January 2003	30 June 2004	First C-in-C. [5]
2		Ajit Bhavnani		12 July 2004	18 August 2005	Later served as Vice Chief of the Air Staff (India). [6] [7]
3		Avinash Deodata Joshi		22 August 2005	31 December 2006	[8]
4	Vice Admiral	Vijay Shankar	Indian Navy	December 2006	30 September 2008	Later served as Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command. [9]
5	Lieutenant General	Balraj Singh Nagal	Indian Army	30 September 2008	December 2010	[10] [11]
6	Air Marshal	Kughikombil Joseph Mathews	Indian Air Force	1 January 2011	31 October 2012	[12]
7	Vice Admiral	Surinder Pal Singh Cheema	Indian Navy	1 November 2012	June 2014	Later served as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command and as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command. [13]
8	Lieutenant General	Amit Sharma	Indian Army	13 June 2014	31 July 2016	[14] [15]
9	Air Marshal	Jasbir Walia	Indian Air Force	1 August 2016	30 March 2019
10		Navkaranjit Singh Dhillon		30 March 2019	31 January 2021
11		Rajesh Kumar		31 January 2021	31 August 2021	[16] [17]
12	Vice Admiral	R. B. Pandit	Indian Navy	31 August 2021	30 September 2023	[18]
13		Suraj Berry		6 October 2023	30 September 2025	[19]

List of CinC by branches of service

Army : 2
Navy : 4
Air Force : 7

See also

• Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command
• Chief of Integrated Defence Staff

References

1. "Nuke command set up, button in PM's hand". The Times of India . 4 January 2003. Archived from the original on 11 May 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
2. "CABINET COMMITTEE ON SECURITY REVIEWS PROGRESS IN OPERATIONALIZING INDIA'S NUCLEAR DOCTRINE". archive.pib.gov.in. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
3. "Air Marshal Asthana to head Strategic Forces Command". The Times of India . 10 January 2003. Archived from the original on 11 May 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
4. "Indian Army wants sole right over post of Strategic Forces Commander". Zee News. 29 July 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
5. "Air Marshal Asthana to head Strategic Forces Command". The Times of India. 10 January 2003. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
6. "Archive News". The Hindu.
7. "Bhavnani is new Vice Chief of Air Staff". www.rediff.com.
8. "Air Marshal Avinash Deodatta Joshi takes over as C-in-C SFC". www.outlookindia.com/.
9. "Vice Admiral Vijay Shankar to take over as C-in-C of Andaman and Nicobar". OneIndia. Archived from the original on 27 December 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
10. "LT GEN BALRAJ SINGH NAGAL, PVSM,AVSM,SM - Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS)". Archived from the original on 16 August 2017.
11. "Lt Gen Nagal is new Strategic Forces commander". The Economic Times. 30 September 2008. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
12. Correspondent, A. "IAF commander to head Strategic Forces Command". Rediff.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
13. "Vice Admiral S P S Cheema, the present chief of integrated defence staff, will take over the unified Strategic Forces Command on November 1. - Times of India". The Times of India. 18 October 2012.
14. "Lt Gen Amit Sharma, VSM Appointed Commander – in – Chief Strategic Force Command". 13 June 2014.
15. "Govt sits on army posts". www.telegraphindia.com.
16. "Air Marshal Rajesh Kumar to take over as new chief of Strategic Forces Command". 31 January 2021.
17. "Rapid Turnover in IAF Brass". Bharat Shakti. 29 May 2021.
18. "RB Pandit takes over SFC".
19. "Suraj Berry takes over SFC".