INS Rajali, is an Indian

naval air station A Naval Air Station (NAS) is a military air base, and consists of a permanent land-based operations locations for the military aviation division of the relevant branch of a navy (Naval aviation). These bases are typically populated by squadron ...

located near

Arakkonam Arakkonam () is a railway town in the Ranipet district, state of Tamil Nadu. Included within the Chennai metropolitan area, Chennai Metropolitan Area since 2022, Arakkonam is a major suburb of the state capital city Chennai, with a population ...

, Chennai Metropolitan Area, Ranipet district,

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

in southern

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It operates under the Southern Naval Command of the Indian Navy, and has the longest military runway in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. Data current as of October 2006.

History

The airfield at Arakkonam was constructed in early 1942, for use by

Allies of World War II The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international Coalition#Military, military coalition formed during World War II (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers. Its principal members were the "Four Policeme ...

. The first recorded air operations from the field took place when the No. 2 Squadron of the

Royal Indian Air Force The Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) was the aerial force of British Raj, British India and later the Dominion of India. Along with the British Indian Army, and the Royal Indian Navy, it was one of the Armed Forces of British Indian Empire. The ...

, flying

Westland Lysander The Westland Lysander is a British Army cooperation aircraft, army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft that was used immediately before and during the Second World War. After becoming obsolete in the army co-operat ...

aircraft flew support missions for the

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

between May and Sep 1942. The airfield was abandoned after the war and lay unused until the 1980s, when it was transferred to the Indian Navy who rehabilitated and commissioned the airfield as ''INS Rajali''. INS Rajali was commissioned on 11 March 1992. The commissioning commanding officer was Captain RS Vasan, who subsequently retired in the rank of commodore while on deputation to the

Indian Coast Guard The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is a maritime law enforcement and search and rescue agency of India with jurisdiction over its territorial waters including its contiguous zone and Exclusive economic zone of India, exclusive economic zone. It was st ...

as the Regional Commander of Coast Guard Region East. Rajali, named after a bird, was commissioned by then

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

R. Venkataraman. The upgraded airbase became home to an

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the 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 ar ...

squadron, INAS 312, which moved here from INS Hansa in Goa. On 16 April 1988, the Tupolev Tu-142MK-E aircraft were commissioned into the squadron by the then

Defence Minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

, K. C. Pant, at INS Hansa. The Albatross as they are called celebrated the silver jubilee of induction at Rajali. The replacement aircraft for the TU 142 M are P8i Poseidon and eight of them have started operating from Rajali. The Helicopter Training School which operated from INS Garuda was shifted to Rajali from July 1991 in the year of commissioning itself and has been training rotary-wing pilots of the Navy and the Coast Guard ever since. This self-contained base celebrated its silver jubilee on 11 March 2017.

Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

will establish a training facility spanning 60,000 sq ft for the P-8I Neptune by 2021. INS Rajali now spans and has the longest military runway in

2015 Floods

During the 2015 South India Floods when

Chennai International Airport Chennai International Airport is an international airport serving the city of Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, India. It is located in Tirusulam in Chengalpattu district, in the Greater Chennai Metropolitan Area around southwest of the c ...

was closed due to floodwaters, INS Rajali was used as a makeshift airport for relief operations as well as limited commercial flights. Some passengers had been brought from flooded areas by helicopter. Commuter services on the

Chennai Suburban Railway The Chennai Suburban Railway is a commuter rail system in the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, operated by the Southern Railways branch of Indian Railways. It is India's second largest suburban rail network in terms of route length and the ...

were operated from Arakkonam Junction for the benefit of passengers coming by air through Rajali.

Units

INS Rajali is home to the navy's INAS 312 squadron which operates P-8I Neptune

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:INS Rajali Airports in Tamil Nadu Rajali 1942 establishments in India Airports established in 1942 1992 establishments in Tamil Nadu 20th-century architecture in India

History

2015 Floods

Units

See also

References