Col Sandeep Rao (Retd) is a veteran Indian Army Artillery officer with more than two decades of military service. His career includes experience in combat operations, counter-terrorism and high-altitude operations along the Line of Control. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy and Don Bosco High School, Matunga, Mumbai, he brings military leadership and field experience to his role as Advisor at Tirupati Forge.
Within India’s defence acquisition framework, Col Rao served as programme coordinator for the country’s first indigenously designed and developed 155 mm advanced artillery gun system, managing requirement formulation, trials, and execution. His domain expertise includes artillery platforms, counter-UAS systems, defence robotics, ammunition manufacturing, and Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP 2020) implementation.
Following his military service, Col Rao acts as a strategic advisor to defence manufacturers, technology enterprises, and investment platforms. He guides companies on market positioning, technology transfer, and institutional procurement pathways while advising defence-tech start-ups on investor readiness and government acquisition. As a technology scout and strategy consultant, he collaborates across the Ministry of Defence, DRDO, and industry channels to bridge operational military requirements with commercial delivery and advance defence indigenisation.
