Vice Admiral Kankipati Appala Satyanarayana Zagapathi 'KASZ' Raju, PVSM, AVSM, NM is a former Flag officer in the Indian Navy.

During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he was the executive officer of the Leopard-class frigate INS Brahmaputra (1957), for which he was awarded the Nao Sena Medal.

[2] Raju trained as a naval aviator and joined the first squadron of the Indian Navy – INAS 300.

[8] After graduating from DSSC, Raju was appointed executive officer of the Leopard-class frigate INS Brahmaputra (1957).

For his participation in the war as the XO of Brahmaputra, Raju was awarded the Nau Sena Medal for gallantry.

In 1973, he commanded the Inter-services guard of honour during the Independence Day celebrations at Red Fort.

[2] On 27 August 1982, Raju was appointed the 15th commanding officer of INS Vikrant and took over from Captain A. Ghosh.

In 1985, Raju was promoted to the rank of acting Rear Admiral and appointed Assistant Chief of Personnel (ACOP) at Naval HQ.

[16] During his tenure, the Indian Navy's second aircraft carrier INS Viraat (R22) reached India.

[18] In December 1990, he was appointed Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command, succeeding Vice Admiral S.P.

[20] On 31 August 1992, Raju was appointed Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command, succeeding Vice Admiral H. Johnson.