Navy to develop INS Dega to augment civil and military ops

[Hindustani78]

Last Updated: Thursday, September 3, 2015 - 18:01
Navy to develop INS Dega to augment civil and military ops | Zee News


Visakhapatnam: Navy will acquire more land to create better infrastructure at INS Dega, a Naval air station here, to allow more aircrafts with civil and military purposes to operate on the eastern seaboard, a senior navy official said on Thursday.


Addressing the media in connection with the arrival of the P8I, a multi-dimensional aircraft, Commanding Officer of INS Dega, Captain D Bhattacharya said, "INS Dega is a very important naval air station on the eastern seaboard. The Indian navy had acquired eight P8I aircrafts from the United States of America and out of them, seven have already arrived in the country and one more will be added soon."

He said India is the first country in the world to purchase P8I aircrafts from the USA.

All the P8I aircrafts will be stationed at Arkonam in Tamil Nadu, he said.

The anti-submarine aircraft will consist of nine crew members, including two pilots. Its main purpose will be to search and detect submarines with the help of latest radars and equipments, he said.

He said INS Dega is the only naval air station out of the nine naval air stations in the country to launch Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) Hawk training to the fighter pilots.

The naval air station, at present, has 11 AJT Hawk aircrafts and will acquire six more to bring the total strength to 17 in two years, he said.

He said infrastructure will be created at the station for MiG-29 squadron, which will commence its operations as soon as aircraft carrier INS Vikrant is commissioned here within three years.

The air station at present has 40 aircrafts, including naval helicopters, and some more will be added soon, he said.

PTI

 

[Hindustani78]

AJTs of Aviation wing of the Indian Navy Hawk Mk132 at INS Dega in Visakhapatnam on Thursday.

Updated: September 4, 2015 05:48 IST
INS Dega to have MiG squadron - The Hindu

Naval Air Station INS Dega that presently has the only Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) squadron in the country will also have a MiG-29 K squadron.

“We intend to have it in place in the next two years and the creation of infrastructure has begun,” says Commanding Officer of INS Dega Capt. D Bhattacharya. Once it happens besides AJTs, pilots would also be trained on MiGs.

The Hawk Mk-132 craft were inducted forming the AJT squadron in November, 2013. It is the Hawks flying that accounts for the morning roar over the skies in the city.

The MiG squadron is expected to be launched once aircraft carrier Vikrant to be based at the Eastern Naval Command is commissioned in 2018. There are also plans to develop a sister airfield at Bobbili where a World War II airfield with two abandoned runways exists.

It will be developed as a diversifying airfield to meet contingencies like bad weather or runway-related problems in Vizag, says Capt Bhattacharya. The additional back-up is required with the number of assets increasing while Dega will remain the main base. Besides, INS Dega is a joint user airfield with civilian aircraft operating and the Navy offering operational support.

INS Dega presently has about 40 craft training pilots.

The Dega air station was abuzz with activity on Thursday with Kamov, Dornier, Chetak, UH 3H, Hawk Mk 132 and the pilot-less target Lakshya on display.

IT STANDS OUT AMONG ALL - The Hindu

The latest acquisition of the Indian Navy, the Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance aircraft Boeing P8I, put up on display at INS Dega in Visakhapatnam on Thursday. —PhotoS: K.R. Deepak

A
mong the various craft lined up at Indian Navy’s Air Station INS Dega coinciding with the Tri-Service (Southern Theatre) Commanders’ Conference, the Boeing P8I stands out.

Indian Navy is the first to acquire the Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance and Anti-Submarine Warfare craft from Boeing.

“The US is the only other country that has the craft where it is called P8A. Australia and other countries are now trying to acquire it,” a pilot told newsmen during a visit of the craft that landed at INS Dega on Thursday. The P8Is are stationed at Naval Air Station Arakkonam.

It is equipped with radar, electronic support measures and electro-optics and has infrared vision. Boeing P8I’s offensive capabilities include air-to-surface missiles and anti-submarine torpedoes.

“What unique the capability of the craft is its sensors and weapons. It is extremely capable and extremely reliable because of it is built on a civil and proven platform,” said Commanding Officer of INS Dega Captain D. Bhattacharya.

With an endurance of 12 hours it can keep gathering information.

“For military reconnaissance it can keep flying on the ocean, gathering information and its piecing together results in a network of intelligence. That leads to building maritime domain awareness for which P8I is a capable platform,” Captain Bhattacharya added.

The craft could fly low vastly increasing India’s search and rescue operations. It had participated in the search for wreckage of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370.

During the extensive search, P8Is had operated from Port Blair, Kuala Lumpur and Australia. Seven of the eight P8Is contracted have joined the Navy. The US is the only other nation that uses about similar equipment fit for its Navy.

Both P8I and P8A were inducted about same time.

The TUs have a longer range because they are turbo-prop but supporting the craft had become difficult. They are nearing the end of their total technical life.

“Because of it being on Boeing 737 commercial platform maintenance is much easier and the number of aircraft available on line is always more,” elaborated Capt. Bhattacharya. It has expendable sonar buoys that search and send automatic signals, the pilot explained.

It also has magnetic anomaly detector that sends signals from metallic objects.

It also participated in the search for the missing Dornier craft off Tamil Nadu coast.

However, it can not be effective to locate craft at the depth at which the Dornier was finally traced.

It had participated in the search for wreckage of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370