The INAS 339 is an Indian naval air squadron based at

INS Hansa INS Hansa, is an Indian naval air station located near Dabolim in Goa, India. Data current as of October 2006. It is India's biggest naval airbase. The military air base has a civil enclave, that operates as Dabolim Airport. History ''INS ...

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

History

INAS 339 was commissioned by V Adm S K Jain on 23 November 1990 at INS Kunjali, Mumbai. Cdr S V Purohit was the commissioning Squadron Commander of the squadron. The squadron initially operated

Westland Sea King The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome eng ...

helicopters but changed over to Kamov 28s in March 1993. The squadron, thereafter, shifted base to

. The Falcons inducted the Kamov 31 Airborne Early Warning (AEW) aircraft in 2003 along with the induction of the Talwar Class frigates from Russia, which has understandably given them the status of Navy's ‘Eyes in the Skies’. INAS 339 operated both the KV 28 and KM 31 helicopters until May 2009. Thereafter, the KV 28 were rebased to INAS 333 in

Vizag Visakhapatnam (; List of renamed places in India, formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the States and union territories of India, Indian stat ...

as replacement of the decommissioned KA 25s.

References

{{Indian Navy Aircraft squadrons of the Indian Navy Military units and formations established in 1990