India to setup new airbases in Andaman Island

[equiliz3r]

India to setup new airbases in Andaman Island

07 Feb 2010 8ak: Increasing security concern and emerging need of revamping security in the Andaman and Nicobar Island has prompted India to set up new airbases and upgrade the existing ones in the Island. The Admiral said that the existing air-strip was not suitable for meeting the security requirements and plans were in place to build new air-strips in the 572 islands to establish better control over the territory and provide adequate security cover to the island, which is 700-km from the mainland.

The airstrip up north (Northern Andaman Islands) needs to be refurbished. Even for smaller aircraft it is a tight fit,' Verma told reporters in Port Blair. Adding further, he said that night landing facilities would also be established at the air-strips.

The airfield at Shibpur is about 1,000 feet in length and is inadequate for smaller cargo aircraft like Dornier and AN-32. Currently, only helicopters are capable of conducting operations from the airfield. Other airbases in the region are situated at Port Blair, Car Nicobar, and Campbell Bay, with plans to establish new ones in Katchul and Hut Bay.

The decision comes at a time when China is focussing on establishing their stronghold in the waters by expanding its navy at an unprecedented pace. Additional airbases would augment the capability of Indian armed forces to enhance the pace of troop mobilisation and logistical support in wake of any Chinese hostility. It will also enable India to extend its sphere of influence South China Sea.

The IAF has also opened three Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) in the past two years to counter China’s military expansion. The latest being Nyoma in eastern Ladakh, just 23 km from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, which was opened in September 2009. The other two ALGs are Daulat Beg Oldi, the world's highest airfield at 16,200 feet, in May 2008 and Fuk Che in November in the same year.

The Indian army on its past is modernising their artillery in a US$4 billion modernisation program to counter China. The big neighbour continues to be a threat to India, with whom it has a border dispute and even fought a war in 1962.

 

[ironman]

It will be a huge boost for the A&N Command. There already an airstrip exists in A&N, if anybody interested in its capabilities please view these pictures...
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_o_no4M2xEPY/SqqveBTswwI/AAAAAAAAIGk/Byd3Y2F1qfw/s1600-h/DSCN0585.jpg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_o_no4M2xEPY/Sqq_JcuwzRI/AAAAAAAAIG0/mZgTUV7WwNc/s1600-h/DSCN0586.jpg
courtesy livefist.

 

[saurabh]

DSCN0585.jpg (image)

Beautiful....
Both, what is on runway and what is behind it....

 

[navtrek]

Andaman and Nicobar Command

In August 2001 India unveiled plans to set up a strategic command in Andaman and Nicobar islands to make its Navy more effective in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. The new tri-service command has a large air force deployment including a fighter squadron and a unit of helicopters. The army, which had a brigade in Andaman, will increase its presence to a division, totalling about 8,000 soldiers.

The islands, which lie 1,190 kilometres east of the southern city of Chennai, was the site of Naval skirmishes between India, the Dutch and the Portuguese in the 18th century and later between the British and Japanese. In 2000 the military establishment called for a strategic command there, arguing that such a facility will counter Chinese monitoring centers in Myanmar. Because of the fact that many of the islands were uninhabited it had become a safe waterway for gun runners and poachers.

The Group of Ministers' (GoM) report on Reforming the National Security System recommended the replacement of the Fortress Commander Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Fortan), who is from the Indian Navy, and have a Joint Andaman and Nicobar Command which will control the assets of the three services and the Coast Guard. The GoM had recommended that the Commander of this Joint Command would report to the proposed Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).

The Joint Andaman and Nicobar Command, established for the first time in the country, was in place by the end of September 2001. The new command, which comprises the Army, Navy, Air Force and the Coast Guard, initially had a naval commander-in-chief appointed by the Cabinet. Subsequently, the command will be headed by a suitable officer from any of the three services. Described as the `sentinel post' for the east and south, the command brought about a qualitative difference to operations and surveillance in that region.

In the early years after independence, lndia’s defence expenditure was very low and Navy got the smallest portion of the total defence budget. The security and the development of outlying Indian Ocean territories (Andaman & Nicobar Islands) received low priority in total Indian perspective planning. In 1957, these territories beame a Union Territory. The hydrographic survey and navigational charts of certain islands of Andaman and Nicobar group was carried out by the Indian Navy in 1957-58. A five year agreement was signed between Governments of India and Indonesia for an expedition to Andaman known as Expedition Survival. This was undertaken in the year 1960. The objective of this expedition was to test the survival of equipment and problems involved in it.

The work on hydrographic survey and navigational charts of different islands of the Andaman and Nicobar group continued in the following years. In 1961-62, the Naval Laboratory at Cochin carried out investigations of underwater, oceanography of sea water mine circuits and electrical installations used by the Navy in this area.

An international Indian Ocean expedition was organised by the Indian Committee on Oceanic Research in 1962-63 to collect scientific data and morphology of sea-bed in which the Indian Navy was a major participant.

In 1963-64, a resident naval officers organisation was set up at Port Blair with the necessary transport and communication facilities which was named as INS Jarawa. In the same year, naval garrison with facilities for moving to the various isalnds was also set up. The Commonwealth exercise was held in the Bay of Bengal in 1963 to enable Indian fleet to maintain itself at a high standard of efficiency. In 1964, a decision was taken to develop a major naval base at Visakhapatnam. At the same time, it was decided to develop repair facilities at Port Blair and naval air station at Dabolin (Goa). Next year, construction of a wharf at Port Blair began. In 1969, logistic facilities in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands were planned in consultation with other ministries.

In 1970, the Directorate of Naval Design was established. In 1970-71, a long term naval plan was chalked out. The Andaman and Nicobar naval establishments were put under the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command. In the year 1971, a three-phased plan in which a base repair organisation at Port Blair and meteorological office at Port Blair and Nancowry was approved for the development of an advanced naval base in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The base repair organisation was commissioned in 1978.

In 1977, an interim Coast Guard organisation was set up. In 1978, Coast Guard organisation at Port Blair for the Andaman and Nicobar region became operational. The functions assigned to Navy and Coast Guard included, ensuring safeguarding and protection of offshore establishments, providing protection to fishermen including assistance to them at sea when in distress, protection of maritime environment and control of marine pollution, assisting the customs department in anti-sumuggling activities, enforcing the provisions of enactments and taking measure for safety of life and property at sea and collection of scientific data.

On May 11, 1985, INS Utkrosh, the first naval air station in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, was commissioned.

 

[Trichy]

ya its one best news to hear, we must deploy a squad of MMRCA or MiG-29 there..

 

[ironman]

Beautiful....
Both, what is on runway and what is behind it....

That's a couple of Su-30MKI's... and some Jaguar's..

 

[Mister X]

It is very late decision, better late than never.

India should make a strong Air Force and Navel Base with good numbers of Warships, submarines and Fighters aircraft as well as amphibious capabilities.

 

[sancho]

It is very late decision, better late than never.

India should make a strong Air Force and Navel Base with good numbers of Warships, submarines and Fighters aircraft as well as amphibious capabilities.

I can understand fighters and some warships, but why subs and amphibious capabilities?

 

[Mister X]

China spurs navy fortification in Andaman

Rahul Singh, Hindustan Times
Port Blair, February 07, 2010

China’s growing influence in the Indian Ocean region appears to have injected new momentum in India’s efforts to fortify its farthest military outpost, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Plans are afoot to upgrade airstrips to support fighter operations, induct 5,000 more troops and deploy additional warships, senior officials said.

Myanmar’s Coco Islands, where the Chinese navy has reportedly set up a surveillance post, are barely 40 km from the Andamans’ northernmost tip Landfall.

New Delhi may not openly flag concerns about China’s strategic moves to squeeze India with its presence in Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, but there is a growing realisation the Andamans hold the key to dominating a vital maritime zone.

Vice-Admiral D.K. Joshi, Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), said airstrips at Campbell Bay and Shibpur were being extended from 3,200 feet to 12,000 feet to support all types of aircraft, including fighters. The airstrips are being upgraded for night-flying operations too.

ANC sources said the army was planning to beef up its brigade-level deployment (around 3,000 soldiers) with three more battalions and support units. An officer said, “There are plans to induct a mechanised infantry battalion, an artillery regiment and an infantry unit.”

The navy, too, is deploying more warships and patrol vessels in the region. Asked if the navy was concerned about the Chinese navy’s expansion in the IOR, navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma said, “The navy’s plans are guided by what’s happening in the region… not just by what a particular country is doing.”

The Andamans are more than 1,200 km away from mainland India. A significant volume of China’s oil imports passes through Malacca Strait, about 350 km from these islands.

China spurs navy fortification in Andaman- Hindustan Times

 

[Mister X]

I can understand fighters and some warships, but why subs and amphibious capabilities?

Strategically-important A&N Command to get a boost

PORT BLAIR: India is finally cranking up force-levels and infrastructure at the strategically-located Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the country's last military outpost, to counter China's strategic moves in the Indian Ocean Region as well as deter terrorists, drug-traffickers and pirates from setting up bases in the largely-uninhabited 572-island cluster.

Moreover, the move will also help protect roughly 30% of India's 2.01 million sq km of Exclusive Economic Zone spread in the region, apart from ensuring better security of the sea lanes converging towards Malacca Strait, a major shipping route with around 70,000 ships sailing through every year, transporting around 30% of the world trade in goods.

For one, India plans to deploy more warships at the country's only tri-Service `theatre' Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC). For another, it's slowly activating and upgrading additional airfields in the archipelago. Moreover, ANC will eventually ramp up its existing 108 Mountain Brigade (with around 3,000 soldiers) to a division-level force of around 15,000 troops.

"The very fact that we have ANC is to ensure sovereignty of these islands. There are proper plans in place between the armed forces and civil administration,'' said Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma on Friday.

Apart from recently inducting a large amphibious warship, the 5,655-tonne INS Kesari, Admiral Verma said ANC would get the offshore patrol vessels being built at the Goa Shipyard.

Moreover, the 1,000-metre airfield at Shibpur in the northernmost region of Andamans is being upgraded to include night-landing facilities also. This will be the third naval airfield after Port Blair and Campbell Bay, while IAF operates the Car Nicobar airbase. The helipads at Kamorta and Little Andaman will also be eventually expanded to include airstrips for fixed-wing aircraft.

ANC, which came up in 2001 after the Groups of Ministers' report on "reforming the national security system'', is unique since it includes Army, Navy and IAF under one operational commander in a unified structure.

But, with the services engaged in turf-wars and not willing to spare their "assets'' for ANC, the command has not become as effective as it could have become. It is still making do with just one infantry brigade, around 15 small warships and just a handful of Dornier-228 maritime patrol aircraft, Mi-8 and Chetak helicopters.

Frontline fighters like the Sukhoi-30MKIs and Jaguars have operated from the Carnic airbase to send a strategic signal across the Bay of Bengal but are not permanently based there. Given the strategic importance of the archipelago, which is a good 1,200-km away from India's east coast, it's probably time that ANC got a separate budget distinct from the three services.

Strategically-important A&N Command to get a boost - India - The Times of India

-------------------------------


Challenges

The challenges in the region are centred around poaching and the Indian Navy held a table-top exercise with navies of other countries to undertake joint planning towards building mutual confidence and improving inter-operability in dealing with problems such as piracy, gun and drug running and illegal migration.

Efforts were on to expand the length of runways and upgrade the airstrips to facilitate night-landing, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Nirmal Verma said here earlier.

Currently there are four airstrips that can operate Sukhois in the region. Sunday’s demonstration showed the reach of the IAF since the fighter aircraft equipped with Beyond Visual Range missiles and other lethal weapons, reached these skies.

In addition, the Landing Ship Tanker (Large) INS Kesri has been positioned here for amphibious operations since the command is being developed as a niche centre for such warfare.

At the parade, the Navy mounted an operation by its famed Marine Commandos, who slithered down a hovering helicopter at sea to carry out a simulated attack on a dummy oilrig platform.

Another team demonstrated water para jumps.

The Hindu : Front Page : Strategic reach of air power showcased

 

[garibnawaz]

It is very late decision, better late than never.

India should make a strong Air Force and Navel Base with good numbers of Warships, submarines and Fighters aircraft as well as amphibious capabilities.

Its not a late decision.

2004 Tsunami screwed the then Airbase in Andaman's which took lives of many IAF men.

IAF is just rennovating its capabilities on the island.

GB

 

[Mister X]

Its not a late decision.

2004 Tsunami screwed the then Airbase in Andaman's which took lives of many IAF men.

IAF is just rennovating its capabilities on the island.

GB

It is a really late decision.

1. The Indian Army deployment was not even half.
2. There were less number of warships rather to say no major warships only small vessels.
3. And last but not the least there were no such deployment of fighter aircrafts.
4. Airstrip was small and does not support night operations.
5. Most importantly there were tussle between the services for command control.

 

[sancho]

In addition, the Landing Ship Tanker (Large) INS Kesri has been positioned here for amphibious operations since the command is being developed as a niche centre for such warfare.

So they were stationed there before, but don't serve a specific reason, why they should be there right?
The stratigic location of the islands makes them important for patrol ships and aircrafts, that's why it's good to beef up the capabilities there, but I also hope that IN can go for the naval base in Muscat, that was rumoured before.

 

[Always Neutral]

I can understand fighters and some warships, but why subs and amphibious capabilities?

Simple

Most of these Islands do not have landing facilities and LST ( with the flat re-inforced bottoms) and a aft anchors which is used to pull the ship back after beaching are ideal for such areas. Army has a brigade there as per the article and hence will need amphibious vessels to patrol these Islands, offload troops and stores to various detachments on remote Island. The LST carries 4 smaller vessels called LCU's to do that.

Submarine for blockading the Malacca Straits as well detecting any subs entering the Indian Ocean from the South China Sea.

Regards

 

[sancho]

Simple

Most of these Islands do not have landing facilities and LST ( with the flat re-inforced bottoms) and a aft anchors which is used to pull the ship back after beaching are ideal for such areas. Army has a brigade there as per the article and hence will need amphibious vessels to patrol these Islands, offload troops and stores to various detachments on remote Island. The LST carries 4 smaller vessels called LCU's to do that.

Submarine for blockading the Malacca Straits as well detecting any subs entering the Indian Ocean from the South China Sea.

Regards

Could be true, but still helicopters and maybe hovercrafts would be faster and better choices, to land, or patrol around those islands than LSTs.

The subs will of course be deployed around these islands, but don't have to be stationed there (only 40Km away from Myanmar), when better protected naval bases on the mainland should be not too far away.
Not sure if this map is correct, but Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam, or Chennai should be safer stations for IN subs or?