On March 6, the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral R Hari Kumar, will be present as the Indian Navy commissions the naval detachment in Minicoy as INS Jatayu.
The incident is a significant turning point in the Navy’s plan to gradually improve security in the strategically significant Lakshadweep Islands.
Naval Detachment Minicoy was set up in the early 1980s under the operational command of Naval Officer-in-Charge (Lakshadweep).
The island of Lakshadweep, which lies on both sides of the crucial Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs), is known as Minicoy. The creation of a stand-alone naval force equipped with the necessary tools and supplies will improve the Indian Navy’s overall capability of the Indian Navy in the islands.
The facility will expand the Indian Navy’s operational reach and make it easier for them to conduct anti-narcotics and anti-piracy operations in the Western Arabian Sea. Additionally, it will improve connectivity with the mainland and the Indian Navy’s capacity to respond quickly in the area.
The Indian Government’s emphasis on the all-encompassing development of islands aligns with the creation of a naval base.
INS Dweeprakshak at Kavaratti is the first naval base in Lakshadweep, followed by INS Jatayu.
By putting INS Jatayu into service, the Indian Navy will increase its presence in the Lakshadweep islands and herald in a new age of capacity building and all-encompassing island territory development. It will also boost its operational surveillance, reach, and sustenance capabilities.
Notably, along with participation from other warships and submarines in the carrier battle groups, the Indian Navy will hold its commanders’ conference on board the twin aircraft carriers, INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant, where they will be performing high-tempo operations like taking off from one carrier and landing at the other, defense officials told ANI.
Additionally, they stated that the multirole helicopter MH-60 Romeo of the Indian Navy will be formally commissioned in Kochi within the upcoming week.
Additionally, the Indian Navy will present its twin carrier operations in the vicinity of Lakshadweep for the first time. This would be the first time, after the induction of INS Vikrant, that the Navy would be carrying out the operations of the two aircraft carriers together.