INS ''Dega'' , is a naval air station of the

Indian Navy 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 si ...

. It is located in

Visakhapatnam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura submarine museu ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

on the east coast of India.

History

The Indian Navy initially started aviation operations in Visakhapatnam in the late 1970s, with the construction of four helipads adjacent to the civil airfield. The civilian

Visakhapatnam Airport Visakhapatnam Airport is a customs airport in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It also operates as a civil enclave on an Indian Navy airbase named INS ''Dega''. It lies between the city localities of NAD X Road and Gajuwaka. The airpor ...

was transferred to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation in 1981. The air station was then called Naval Air Station, Visakhapatnam. Additional hangars, maintenance facilities and an operations complex were constructed soon after. On 21 October 1991, the air station was renamed and formally commissioned as INS ''Dega'' by then Vice Admiral

Laxminarayan Ramdas Admiral (India), Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas, Param Vishisht Seva Medal, PVSM, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, AVSM, Vir Chakra, VrC, Vishisht Seva Medal, VSM, Aide-de-camp, ADC served as Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief of Naval Staff of the Ind ...

. It is named for the

Telugu language Telugu (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken by Telugu people predominantly living in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is also the official language. It is the most widely spoken member of the Dravidian language fam ...

word for a big and powerful bird of the eagle family.

Units

Indian naval air squadrons based at INS ''Dega'' include: *

INAS 551 The INAS 551 is an Indian naval air squadron based at INS Dega, Visakhapatnam. History In its early form the squadron existed as the Naval Jet Flight (NJF) at Sulur, which was set up in September 1957 and was equipped with four Vampire aircr ...

, a fighter training squadron BAE Hawk AJT aircraft * INAS 311, a reconnaissance squadron operating

Dornier 228 The Dornier 228 is a twin-turboprop STOL utility aircraft, designed and first manufactured by Dornier GmbH (later DASA Dornier, Fairchild-Dornier) from 1981 until 1998. Two hundred and forty-five were built in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. In 19 ...

aircraft *

INAS 321 The INAS 321 is an Indian naval air squadron based at INS Shikra, Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial cen ...

, a search and rescue squadron operating

HAL Chetak HAL may refer to: Aviation * Halali Airport (IATA airport code: HAL) Halali, Oshikoto, Namibia * Hawaiian Airlines (ICAO airline code: HAL) * HAL Airport, Bangalore, India * Hindustan Aeronautics Limited an Indian aerospace manufacturer of fig ...

helicopters * INAS 333, an

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...

squadron operating

Kamov Ka-28 The Kamov Ka-27 (NATO reporting name 'Helix') is a military helicopter developed for the Soviet Navy, and currently in service in various countries including Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam, China, South Korea, and India. Variants include the Ka-29 a ...

helicopters * INAS 350, a logistics and transport squadron operating Sikorsky UH-3 Sea King helicopters * a UAV squadron, operating

DRDO Lakshya Lakshya ("target" in Sanskrit) is an Indian remotely piloted high speed target drone system developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) of DRDO. A variant ''Lakshya-1'' is used to perform discreet aerial reconnaissance of battl ...

pilotless targeting UAVs * The BAE Systems Hawk advanced jet trainer was inducted on 6 November 2013 by then

Chief of Naval Staff (India) The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), also known as the Navy Chief, abbreviated to CNS, is a statutory position in the Indian Navy held by a four star admiral. As the highest ranking officer to serve solely in the Indian Navy, the chief is th ...

Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, VSM, NM (born 4 July 1954) is the Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Vice Chairman of Islands Development Agency (IDA). He was an Admiral in the Indian Navy and served ...

As of 2014 preparations have begun to deploy and permanently base a full squadron of

Mikoyan MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (russian: Микоян МиГ-29; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the MiG ...

fighters to strengthen the security of India's eastern seaboard. In order to decrease the growing flight traffic in the base, a new base has been under consideration by the navy at Badangi, near Vizayanagaram The plan for the expansion of the airbase envisages a massive increase in size as well as capabilities. In the final scenario, from the present size of 1100 acres, the INS Dega will be spread out to over 1500 acres. A parallel taxi track at the base is also in the offing which will cut down the runway occupancy time.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:INS Dega Dega Dega Airports in Andhra Pradesh Economy of Visakhapatnam Buildings and structures in Visakhapatnam Transport in Visakhapatnam 1970s establishments in Andhra Pradesh

History

Units

See also

References