Shore Based Test Facility - Built as a state-of-the-art facility, the project was managed by Aeronautical Development Agency in consultation with Indian Navy and built by Goa Shipyard
It is rumored that ADA is preparing to test soon test its Tejas Naval Prototype 2 (NP-2) version of the jet fighter at the Shore Based Test Facility INS Hansa in Goa, the preparation for the crucial test is going on at full steam.
INS Hansa Shore Based Test Facility (SBTF) is located on India’s western coast in Goa which has since become operational. Although the facility was inaugurated back in March 2015, it was unknown at the time if the arresting cables had been fully installed allowing for both take-off and aircraft recovery. Satellite imagery (above) confirms cable installation and shows tire marks from MIG-29K landing. Seven MIG-29K can be observed parked on the aircraft apron in front of three new support hangars built over the last several years.
INS Hansa's construction was managed by the Aeronautical Development Agency and built with the help of various others including Goa Shipyard Limited, R&D Engineers (Pune) and Chief Construction Engineer (R&D West). These companies worked under the supervision of specialists from Russia.
MIG-29K Catches Arresting Cable at INS Hansa
Much like Russia’s NITKA carrier training facility in Crimea, INS Hansa sports a single ski jump take-off ramp and a new runway extension for an arrested landing strip for training Indian Navy pilots in short take-off but arrested landing (STOBAR) operations. This is different from operations on India’s current aircraft carrier, INS Viraat, which uses short take off and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft in the form of the BAE Sea Harrier.
India will put the Tejas Naval variants through its paces at this facility in order to land on INS Vikrant which also features a STOBAR configuration. INS Vikrant is currently under construction at Cochin shipyard in Kerala.
Since completing the additions at INS Hansa, India has become the world’s fourth country to setup a naval pilot program to land on aircraft carriers following the United States, Russia, and China.
