The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates significantly in the Persian Gulf Region, the Horn of Africa, the Strait of Malacca, and routinely conducts anti-piracy operations and partners with other navies in the region. It also conducts routine two to three month-long deployments in the South and East China seas as well as in the western Mediterranean sea simultaneously.
Surya Kiran is an aerobatics demonstration team of the Indian Air Force. The Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) was formed in 1996 and is a part of the No. 52 Squadron of the Indian Air Force. The team is based at Bidar Air Force Station in Karnataka and has performed numerous demonstrations. The squadron was initially composed of the HAL HJT-16 Kiran Mk.2 trainer aircraft. The team was suspended in February 2011 and was re-established with BAE Hawk Mk.132 aircraft in 2015.
Sarang is an aerobatic air display team of the Indian Air Force. Formally established as the No. 151 Helicopter Unit in 2005, the unit flies five modified HAL Dhruv helicopters and is based out of Sulur Air Force Station near Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.
The HAL HJT-16 Kiran is an Indian two-seat intermediate jet-powered trainer aircraft designed and manufactured by aircraft company Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
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 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.
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.
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 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.
Karwar Airport is a proposed airport and will be built by the Indian Navy at Alageri village near Ankola in Karnataka. The naval air station is expected to start functioning in 2025.
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 310 is an Indian naval air squadron based at INS Hansa. Earlier it was shifted from INS Hansa to INS Sardar patel but later it was re-shifted to INS Hansa.
The INAS 315 was an Indian naval air squadron based at INS Hansa, Goa.
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.
Bidar Air Force Station,, is a second largest flight training center in India. It is established by the Indian Air Force and It was founded during World War II and has been a training center for Indian Air Force pilots since 1963. Trainer aircraft like the HAL HT-2 and variants of HAL HJT-16 Kiran have been used at the airbase for nearly four decades. In 2011, the station was remodeled and refurbished, with the runway extended to 9000 feet and new facilities for aircraft engine maintenance and testing added.
Kiran Shekhawat was the first Indian Navy woman officer to be killed in the line of duty. On a flight as an observer with the Indian Navy, the woman Naval officer was martyred in a Dornier crash off the Goa coast on 24 March 2015. Lt. Shekhawat was the wife of another Naval officer, Vivek Chhoker.
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.
