The Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS) is a statutory position in the Indian Armed Forces, that is usually held by a three star vice admiral. The Vice Chief is the deputy of the Chief of the Naval Staff and is usually the second highest ranking officer of the Indian Navy. The current VCNS is Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan who took over from Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi on 1 May 2024.

Vice admiral is a three-star flag officer rank in the Indian Navy. It is the second-highest active rank in the Indian Navy. Vice admiral ranks above the two-star rank of rear admiral and below the four-star rank of admiral, which is held by the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS).