| INAS 342 | |
|---|---|
| Active | 6 January 2006 - Present |
| Country |  India |
| Branch |  Indian Navy |
| Garrison/HQ | INS Garuda |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Reconnaissance | |
INAS 342 is an Indian Naval air squadron, operating unmanned aerial vehicles, based at INS Garuda, Kochi. The squadron was raised in 2006 and operates IAI Heron and IAI Searcher Mk II. [1] [2]
Two different UAV's, IAI Heron and Searcher Mark II, were acquired from IAI Malat by the Indian Navy in December 2002. The aim of inducting these UAV's was to perform maritime reconnaissance, search & rescue, battle damage assessment and providing OTOHT data.
16 internal pilots, 11 observers, 8 external pilots, 6 technical officers and 75 technical and non-technical sailors underwent training in 2002 at IAI Malat. On 31 August 2002, the Intensive Flying and Trials Unit (IFTU) was established at INS Garuda and was tasked with the roles of aircraft acceptance, operator & crew training, evaluation & trials of aircraft and sensors, doctrine formulation, establishing operating & maintenance procedures.
Flight training commenced in January 2003 and the OEM withdrew gradually as the unit personnel began gaining expertise. Routine and training flying finally translated into operational exploitation and the unit started regularly participating in exercises off both coasts from ships and from various military and non-military airfields.
Training of technical officers and sailors was also taken up by the OJT cell to hand over the freshly acquired expertise to successive generations of maintainers.
On 6 January 2006, IFTU was formally commissioned as an operational squadron, INAS 342. The first Officer-in-Charge was Commander Rajesh Kawatra. Today, INAS 342 has evolved into a fully functional squadron and pioneered a new era in aviation. [1] [3]
INAS 342 has 12 Israeli-built IAI Herons and Searcher Mark IIs UAVs. The Searcher is a third-generation UAV. The Searcher MkII has a cruise speed of about 100 knots, a service ceiling of 20,000 feet and an 18-hour endurance. The Heron can touch speeds of over 100 knots with a service ceiling of 30,000 feet and an endurance of 40 hours.
Heron is the bigger version of Searcher MKII and has a wingspan of about 16 metres. The Searcher carries a modern and sophisticated electro optic camera and a communication intelligence payload. Heron is equipped with a maritime patrol radar. Both the UAVs have long endurance capabilities, can operate before and after sunset and beam real time live pictures of maritime targets.
The IAI Heron (Machatz-1) is a medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by the Malat (UAV) division of Israel Aerospace Industries. It is capable of Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) operations of up to 52 hours' duration at up to 10.5 km (35,000 ft). It has demonstrated 52 hours of continuous flight, but the effective operational maximal flight duration is less, according to payload and flight profile. An advanced version, the Heron TP, is also known as the IAI Eitan.
Ein Shemer Airfield also called Hadera East is an Israeli Air Force (IAF) base in northern Israel, located approximately 6 km east of Hadera in the Haifa District, named after the nearby kibbutz Ein Shemer. It houses no fighter jets or helicopters but UAVs for testing and a defense missile battery with long-range radar.
The Indian Naval Air Arm is the aviation branch and a fighting arm of the Indian Navy which is tasked to provide an aircraft carrier-based strike capability, fleet air defence, maritime reconnaissance, and anti-submarine warfare.
Porbandar Airport is a public airport in Porbandar, Gujarat, India. Currently, civilian flights are not operational. Apart from civilian operations it also has a military presence in the form of INAS 343 of the Indian Navy and CGAE Porbandar of the Indian Coast Guard. A new terminal building was opened in April 2008. There are currently no scheduled passenger flights from the airport.
The IAI Scout is a reconnaissance unmanned air vehicle developed in Israel in the 1970s by Israel Aircraft Industries as a competitor to the Tadiran Mastiff. The project was led by Charley Attali, David Harari, and Michael Shefer who were all awarded the 1981 Israel Defense Prize.
The IAI Searcher is a reconnaissance UAV developed in Israel in the 1980s. In the following decade, it replaced the IMI Mastiff and IAI Scout UAVs then in service with the Israeli Army.
The IAI Eitan is an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft developed in Israel in the early 21st century by the Malat division of Israel Aerospace Industries. The aircraft is a newer version of the IAI Heron. Along with intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTR), Israeli IAI Eitan also capable of holding armed roles. All exports of the aircraft are unarmed.
INS Garuda, is an Indian naval air station located in Kochi, in the state of Kerala. Commissioned on 11 May 1953, it is the oldest operating air station of the Indian Navy.
INS Shikra, formerly known as INS Kunjali, is an Indian naval air station located at Colaba in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a heliport.
INAS 343 is an aviation squadron of the Indian Navy, operating IAI Heron and IAI Searcher MkII UAVs based at Porbandar. It is the second squadron in the navy dedicated to operating UAVs after INAS 342 at Kochi. The squadron was raised in 2011. The squadron is tasked with patrolling Northern Arabian Sea.
INS Dega, is a naval air station of the Indian Navy. It is located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh on the east coast of India.
INS Parundu is an Indian naval air station located near Uchipuli in the Ramanathapuram of the state of Tamil Nadu. It operates under the Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy. The air station will be opened up for civilian flights under Phase 2 of the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) of the Government of India also known as UDAN and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has started preparatory work at the airstrip. It is sandwiched between Rameswaram National Highway Road and Railway track which leads towards Rameswaram.
IAI-HAL NRUAV is a unmanned rotorcraft project being co-developed by Malat Solutions, a unit of IAI of Israel, and HAL of India for the Indian Navy.
The INAS 322 is an Indian naval air squadron based at INS Garuda, Kochi.
The INAS 330 is an Indian naval air squadron based at INS Shikra, Mumbai.
The INAS 344 is an Indian naval air squadron based at INS Parundu, Tamil Nadu. The squadron was established in 2012 and operates IAI Heron and IAI Searcher MkII.
The INAS 551 is an Indian naval air squadron based at INS Dega, Visakhapatnam.
The INAS 323 is an Indian naval air squadron based at INS Hansa, Goa. It operates the multi-role helicopter HAL Dhruv in maritime configuration. The primary role of the squadron is Search and Rescue, Special Operations and Coastal Surveillance.
| Leadership | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Components and Commands |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Military Academies |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Insignia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Documents | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History & Future | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
