VISAKHAPATNAM: The Eastern Naval Command (ENC) of the Indian Navy has plans for the expansion of INS Dega (a military airport and later it has allowed for operating commercial flights) in Vizag city after the commissioning of the green-field international airport at Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram district.
At a media briefing ahead of Navy Day, Vice-Admiral Rajesh Pendharkar, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command said Navy, said Rafale aircrafts are going to be inducted soon and stationed at INS Dega along with the aircrafts being based off the eastern seaboard and carrier borne fighter aircrafts.
We are looking at expansion of our own assets and our own infrastructure. The space will be freed up for expansion of our infrastructure and accommodating more aircrafts at INS Dega, Vice-Admiral Rajesh Pendharkar added.
It may be recalled that the GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport Limited mentioned that the Bhogapuram international airport (around 40 kms from Vizag city) would be completed by June 2026 and will be capable of handling large wide-bodied aircraft. . India is set to seal the proposed procurement of 26 naval variants of Rafale jets and three additional Scorpene submarines soon. The importance of military use will increase at INS Dega in the coming days
On induction of aircraft carrier INS Vikrant in ENC and anchoring in Visakhapatnam, Vice-Admiral Rajesh Pendharkar said INS- Vikrant is a very large ship and they must create some infrastructure for berthing the aircraft carrier. We have plans to construct a jetty space outside and the work on the naval outer harbor project is going and after completion, INS Vikrant would be brought here. Vikrant operates off the eastern seaboard periodically till it is permanently based here, he added.
Regarding the plans for the third aircraft carrier in ENC, the vice-admiral said that it has not been decided yet and the plans for initial approvals for the aircraft carrier are in progress. On the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Navy, the Vice-Admiral said they were starting with low end and it was left to the imagination of the individual to adapt AI in whatever they want to use. The Navy has drones for surveillance, quadcopters for surveillance on ships in addition to those rotating drones and plans for developing an advanced underwater autonomous system and for surface vessels, he added. EOM
