3 air surveillance squadrons for Navy

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 18

The Indian Navy will get three new air squadrons to ramp up maritime surveillance around Gujarat and Tamil Nadu with the government giving its sanction.

A total of 12 Dornier aircraft have been procured and deliveries commence this month. This is a substantial contract for the indigenous HAL-built maritime surveillance version of the Dornier 228 aircraft.  The new aircraft being delivered under this contract are fitted with improved state-of-the-art sensors and equipment, which includes glass cockpit, advanced surveillance radar, optical sensors and networking features.

The aircraft will enhance maritime awareness of the Navy through round-the-clock sensor-based surveillance and provide targeting data in areas of operation to ward off terror and other threats from sea.

The government has also sanctioned manpower towards manning additional aircraft in existing Dornier surveillance squadrons in Kerala and Andaman Islands.

Separately, the Navy today said a new Naval Air Station (NAS) Shibpur will be commissioned as INS Kohassa on January 24. INS Kohassa has been named after white-bellied sea eagle, which is a large bird of prey endemic to Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

NAS Shibpur was established in 2001 as a Forward Operating Air Base for surveillance in North Andaman. With the addition of this airfield, the Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) will have the ability to operate independently.