INS Utkrosh आईएनएस उत्क्रोश | |||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Naval Air Station | ||||||||||
Operator | Indian Navy | ||||||||||
Location | Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, India | ||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 14 ft / 4 m | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 11°38′28″N092°43′47″E / 11.64111°N 92.72972°E | ||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
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Source: DAFIF |
INS Utkrosh( IATA : N/A, ICAO : VOPB), is an Indian naval air station under the joint-services Andaman and Nicobar Command of the Indian Armed Forces. It is located near naval base INS Jarawa on Port Blair, the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. [1]
It shares airside facilities with Veer Savarkar International Airport which handles civilian traffic.
The airfield at Port Blair was transferred from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to the Indian Navy on 9 March 1984. [2] It was initially commissioned as INS Jarawa II.
On 11 May 1985, the air station was formally commissioned as INS Utkrosh by then Defence Minister of India, P. V. Narasimha Rao, making it the first naval air station in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. [3] Its location makes it an important strategic station for protecting India's maritime interests in the Bay of Bengal. It also serves as an important facility for undertaking humanitarian operations, such as disaster relief and evacuation of medical emergencies from the remote islands.
The facilities at INS Utkrosh have been significantly upgraded. The runway has been lengthened to almost 11,000 feet (3,400 m). [4] Except for the civilian terminal operated by the Airports Authority of India, all other air traffic operations over Port Blair are undertaken by INS Utkrosh. The geography makes this a difficult airfield for aircraft, as a hillock at one end means that planes can land or take off only in one direction. Winds change here every six months, so pilots have to either take off or land with strong tail winds. [3]
Naval Air Squadrons based at INS Utkrosh include:
INAS 325, an ALH helicopter squadron
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Port Blair is the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India in the Bay of Bengal. It is also the local administrative sub-division (tehsil) of the islands, the headquarters for the district of South Andaman, and the territory's only notified town.
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.
Car Nicobar Air Force Station is located in IAF Camp village, on Car Nicobar Island in the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India.
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.
INS Rajali, is an Indian naval air station located near Arakkonam, Ranipet district, Tamil Nadu in southern India. It operates under the Southern Naval Command of the Indian Navy, and has the longest military runway in Asia.
Admiral Arun Prakash, PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VSM is a former Flag Officer of the Indian Navy. He served as the Chief of the Naval Staff from 31 July 2004 to 31 October 2006 and as the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee from 31 January 2005 to 31 October 2006. He is one of India's most decorated naval officers.
The Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) is a integrated tri-services command of the Indian Armed Forces, based at Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a Union Territory of India. It was created in 2001 to safeguard India's strategic interests in Southeast Asia and the Strait of Malacca by increasing rapid deployment of military assets in the region. It provides logistical and administrative support to naval ships which are sent on deployment to East Asia and the Pacific Ocean.
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INS Hansa, is an Indian naval air station located near Dabolim in Goa, India. It is India's biggest naval airbase. The military air base has a civil enclave, that operates as Dabolim Airport.
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.
INS Jarawa is a naval base of the Indian Armed Forces under the joint-services Andaman and Nicobar Command located in Port Blair in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. It was commissioned in 1964.
INS Kardip is a forward operating base of the Indian Navy under the joint-services Andaman and Nicobar Command located on Kamorta Island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It was commissioned in 1973.
INS Baaz is an Indian naval air station under the joint-services Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) of the Indian Armed Forces. It is located near Campbell Bay, on Great Nicobar island in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. It is the southernmost air station of the Indian Armed Forces. It overlooks the Strait of Malacca as well as the Six Degree channel between Great Nicobar and the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
INS Kohassa is an Indian naval air station under the Andaman and Nicobar Command of the Indian Armed Forces. It is located at Shibpur, a village located on North Andaman Island.
The INAS 312 is an Indian naval air squadron based at INS Rajali.
The INAS 318 is an Indian naval air squadron based at INS Utkrosh, Port Blair.
Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command (CINCAN) is the head of the Andaman and Nicobar Command, the first and only Tri-service theater command of the Indian Armed Forces, based at Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a Union Territory of India.
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