Radars, jetties, airfield and BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles - the Indian Navy’s newest base being established on Minicoy Island in Lakshadweep, INS Jatayu, will have all these and many more. The upgrade is part of a long-term capability development plan which officials and experts say will shore up India’s security footprint in the islands located very close to critical Sea Lanes of Communication (SLOC).
This is especially significant as Chinese naval footprint, which includes ‘research vessels’, has seen massive expansion in the Indian Ocean. Minicoy is also just few hundred miles from Maldives.
In addition to INS Jatayu, new infrastructure and facilities were inaugurated at the Karwar naval base in Karnataka by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday. These include two major piers and seven residential towers comprising 320 houses for officers and civilian defence personnel as well as 149 single officers’ accommodation.
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“New radar facilities at Minicoy will augment surveillance and coastal batteries of extended range BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles with a range of around 450 km will give huge flexibility in responding to threats,” officials in the know said. It will be a phased expansion and in sync with the overall effort to develop the island chains around the country, officials stated.
“As we commission Jatayu, it is crucial to recognise the pressing need for heightened surveillance amidst the prevailing geopolitical developments which underscore the strategic significance of Lakshadweep to India. The Indian Ocean Region is witnessing an upsurge in maritime terror, crime, and piracy,” Navy Chief Admiral R. Hari Kumar said at the commissioning of INS Jatayu. “INS Baaz to the east in Andamans and now, INS Jatayu in the west at Minicoy, will serve as the eyes and ears of the Navy,” he stated.
Lakshadweep, India’s smallest Union Territory, is an archipelago consisting of 36 islands with an area of 32 sq km. It comprises 12 atolls, three reefs, five submerged banks and 10 inhabited islands. All Islands are 220-440 km away from Kochi in Kerala.
“Jatayu will be the ‘watchkeeper’ for Bharat at the gateway of Arabian Sea,” said Vice-Admiral Shekhar Sinha, former Western Naval Commander, noting its proximity to the busy Nine Degree Channel, the approximately 200-km wide area between Minicoy and Kalpeni/Suheli Par islands of Lakshadweep. Situated at the tip of India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), it also serves as a deterrent against any future adversarial presence, making Jatayu a “formidable static aircraft carrier”. “Unfolding geopolitical canvas in the Indian Ocean calls for fortification of Minicoy Island, a valuable asset. Apart from becoming a tourist paradise, Minicoy has potential of becoming a formidable gatekeeper of Arabian Sea,” he told The Hindu.
The first Commanding officer of INS Jatayu is Commander Vrat Baghel, and it will function under the operational control of Naval Officer-in-Charge (Lakshadweep), Southern Naval Command.
In recent years, there has also been a particular increase in smuggling of narcotics while illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing has been observed in Central Arabian Sea and Southwest Indian Ocean beyond the Indian EEZ. While trawlers from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan are engaged in IUU fishing, a majority of them are Chinese.
Further, Vice-Admiral Sinha added that surveillance assets at Jatayu could feed into the Information Fusion Centre for Indian Ocean Region’s (IFC-IOR) Maritime Domain Awareness network and provide the edge to Quad in the emerging world order. “Creation of strong countermeasure assets would become essential to protect India’s national interests.”
There is already an ongoing effort for infrastructure augmentation by the Central government in coordination with Island Development Authority and NITI Aayog.
For instance, the NITI Aayog has joined hands with the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Airports Authority of India for expansion of Agatti airfield amid increased demand from tourists while Larsen & Toubro has been given a ₹4,500-crore contract to expand the runway to 2,800 meters. For Minicoy, there is plan for the development of greenfield dual-use airfield which will have a longer runway making it capable of handling the Navy’s P-8I long-range maritime patrol aircraft and medium- and long-endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.
Karwar naval base
The Phase I construction of Karwar base under Project Seabird, which was completed in 2011, was designed to accommodate 10 ships and comprised a breakwater, a pier capable of berthing 10 ships, a 10,000-tonne ship lift and dry berth, a naval ship repair yard, logistics and armament storage facilities, accommodation for 1,000 personnel, a headquarters, and a 141-bed Naval Hospital.
The Cabinet Committee on Security has since granted approval for Phase IIA of Project Seabird which will see the base expanded for berthing of 32 ships and submarines, along with 23 yardcraft and include piers designed to accommodate ships and submarines, providing a berthing space of more than 6 km, technical facilities, electrical substations, switch gears, and support utilities. “The centrepiece of Phase IIA works is an iconic Covered Dry Berth, standing at a height of 75 meters, taller than the Qutub Minar in Delhi, and spread over 33,000 sq.m land area,” according to the Navy. “This dry berth is designed to facilitate simultaneous docking and comprehensive enclosed maintenance of up to four capital ships.”
In Phase IIA, four different townships encompassing residential accommodations, with about 10,000 dwelling units of all types for officers, senior and junior sailors and defence civilian staff, is being constructed while a green field dual-use naval sir station with 2,700-metre runway is in the works along with a civil-enclave which will facilitate operations of commercial aircraft flights.
Once fully operational, with an estimated 50,000 individuals residing in the naval facilities spread over a 25-km expanse, a substantial contribution to the local economy is foreseen, the Navy added.
The ongoing situation in the Red Sea with continuing drone and missile attacks on commercial shipping and increasing piracy attacks in Gulf of Aden underscore the importance of the region for global trade. For instance, over 90% of the India’s trade flows through the sea.
