INS Hansa | |||||||||||
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 Indian Navy's MiG-29Ks parked at INS Hansa | |||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Naval Air Station | ||||||||||
| Operator | Indian Navy | ||||||||||
| Location | Dabolim, Goa, India | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 184 ft / 56 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 15°22′51″N073°49′53″E / 15.38083°N 73.83139°E | ||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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INS Hansa, ( IATA : N/A, ICAO : VOGO) is an Indian naval air station located near Dabolim in Goa, India. [1] It is India's biggest naval airbase. [2] The military air base has a civil enclave, that operates as Dabolim Airport.
INS Hansa was commissioned on 5 September 1961 at Sulur near Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. It was initially co-located with the Sulur Air Force Station of the Indian Air Force. It was then home to INAS 551 squadron, operating de Havilland Vampire aircraft, as well as training establishments for Hawker Sea Hawk and Breguet Alizé aircraft. [3] After the liberation of Goa in December 1961, INS Hansa was transferred to Dabolim. In 1983, the Indian Navy began inducting the BAE Sea Harrier into service, basing training activities at Dabolim until the Harriers were retired in 2016. [4] Now the base houses MiG-29KUBs, the tandem two-seat operational trainer variant of the carrier based MIG-29Ks. The aircraft has been inducted into the Navy with a complement of 12 MiG 29Ks that have been purchased with the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya (re-fitted and refurbished Admiral Gorshkov of the Russian Navy).
Besides the operation of the MiGs, the Navy also operates Kamov Ka-28 anti submarine helicopters, along with Ilyushin Il-38 May and TU-142M Bear aircraft. Dabolim airbase also hosts exercises by the Indian Air Force's fighter bombers and it has facilities for the Indian Coast Guard which operates a fleet of small aircraft such as Dornier 228s. The Indian Navy also carries out long range maritime patrols as far as the Horn of Africa from Dabolim.
The Navy has an aerobatic team, based at Dabolim, called the Sagar Pawan. The team comprises three Kiran aircraft which carry out aerobatic displays at various locations in the country. The team is used in one or two annual public events in Goa for flypasts of 15 to 20 minutes duration. The Navy also operates a naval aviation museum near Dabolim Airport.
The Indian Navy's Shore Based Test Facility (SBTF), which is a mock-up of the 283-metre (928 ft) INS Vikramaditya deck built on the airfield at Hansa is used to train and certify navy pilots of the Mikoyan MiG-29K for operating from the aircraft carrier, and for the developmental trials of the naval HAL Tejas. [5] [6] [7] This SBTF was designed by Nevskoye Design Bureau (NDB) of Russia for Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA).
Over 2,000 military personnel and 1,000 civilians are based at INS Hansa. It is home to 8 Indian Naval Air Squadrons (INAS).
Among the units based here are: [8]
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is an Indian public sector aerospace and defence company, headquartered in Bangalore. Established on 23 December 1940, HAL is one of the oldest and largest aerospace and defence manufacturers in the world. HAL began aircraft manufacturing as early as 1942 with licensed production of Harlow PC-5, Curtiss P-36 Hawk and Vultee A-31 Vengeance for the Indian Air Force. HAL currently has 11 dedicated Research and development (R&D) centres and 21 manufacturing divisions under 4 production units spread across India. HAL is managed by a board of directors appointed by the President of India through the Ministry of Defence, Government of India. HAL is currently involved in designing and manufacturing of fighter jets, helicopters, jet engine and marine gas turbine engine, avionics, software development, spares supply, overhauling and upgrading of Indian military aircraft.
INS Vikramaditya is a modified Kiev-class aircraft carrier and the flagship of the Indian Navy. The carrier entered into service in 2013.
Dabolim Airport is an international airport serving Panaji, the capital of the state of Goa, India. It is operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) as a civil enclave in an Indian Navy naval airbase named INS Hansa. The airport is located in Dabolim, in South Goa district, 4 km (2.5 mi) from the nearest city of Vasco da Gama, 23 km (14 mi) from Margao, and about 30 km (19 mi) from the state capital, Panaji.
The Mikoyan MiG-29K is a Russian all-weather carrier-based multirole fighter aircraft developed by the Mikoyan Design Bureau. The MiG-29K was developed in the late 1980s from the MiG-29M. Mikoyan describes it as a 4+ generation aircraft.
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.
The Naval Aviation Museum is a military aviation museum located in Bogmalo, 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from Vasco da Gama, Goa, India focused on the history of the Indian Naval Air Arm. The museum is divided into two main parts, an outdoor exhibit and a two-storey indoor gallery.
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.
Sulur Air Force Station is an air base of the Indian Air Force located at Sulur near Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu and is India's second largest air base after Hindon AFS. It is the base which is responsible for protection of India's sea area. It is the only base in India which handles both fighter and transport flights at one location; no other base in India is equipped to do so. It is also the only IAF base in India to have all Departments at one location: fighters, carrier planes, carrier helicopters, attack helicopters, a repair and overhauling depot, TETTRA school, Garud Force, Air Force Hospital, Southern Command Sub Headquarters, & ECHS. It is a former Royal Navy and Indian Navy base.
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 Vikrant is an aircraft carrier in service with Indian Navy. The carrier is India's fourth carrier and the first to be built in India. It was constructed by the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) in Kochi, Kerala. The namesake Vikrant is a tribute to India's first aircraft carrier INS Vikrant (1961). Vikrant means "courageous" in Sanskrit. The motto of the ship, "जयेम सम् युधिस्पृधः" (Sanskrit), means "I defeat those who dare to challenge me" (English). It is currently one of two active aircraft carriers in the Indian Navy, the other being the flagship INS Vikramaditya.
A shore-based test facility (SBTF), also known as a land-based test facility, is used for the flight testing of aircraft that operate from aircraft carriers. They are also used for the training of the pilots who will operate the aircraft from the aircraft carriers. Only four countries in the world have SBTF or LBTF; they are China, India, Ukraine / Russia and the United States.
The INAS 303 is an Indian naval air squadron based at INS Hansa.
The INAS 339 is an Indian naval air squadron based at INS Hansa, Goa.
The INAS 551 is an Indian naval air squadron based at INS Dega, Visakhapatnam.
The HAL Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter (TEDBF) is a canard delta wing, twin-engine, carrier-based, multirole combat aircraft currently under development for the Indian Navy. The TEDBF is being designed and developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), and will be manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The TEDBF is intended to perform a multitude of missions, including air supremacy, air interdiction, anti-access/area denial (A2/AD), anti-ship warfare (ASW) and electronic warfare (EW) missions. The TEDBF is expected to replace the Mikoyan MiG-29K onboard the INS Vikramaditya and the INS Vikrant.
Rear Admiral Philipose George Pynumootil, AVSM, NM is a former flag officer of the Indian Navy. He last served as the Flag Officer Naval Aviation and Flag officer Goa Naval Area. He previously served as the Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Air) at Naval headquarters. He superannuated on 30 April 2022.
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.
Rear Admiral Ajay Daniel Theophilus is a serving flag officer of the Indian Navy. He currently serves as the Flag Officer Naval Aviation (FONA) and Flag Officer Goa Naval Area (FOGA). He previously served as the Deputy Commandant of the Indian Naval Academy (INA). He earlier served as the Commanding Officer of INS Hansa and was the commissioning commanding officer of the first Mikoyan MiG-29K naval air squadron INAS 303.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) Data current as of October 2006.| Leadership | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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