The Indian Navy is all set to commission it’s first Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) squadron on the East Coast at Uchipuli.
The UAV squadron in the east coast is a significant step towards strengthening maritime surveillance and reconnaissance in Palk Strait, Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay off the Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh coast.
The squadron has been christened INAS 344 and it will be operated from INS Parundu, a naval air station. It will be the third UAV squadron of the Navy. Established in 2006, the Indian Navy’s first UAV squadron, INAS 342 in Kochi, already performs operational missions as well as training. The second squadron was commissioned at Porbandar in Gujarat in 2011.
The third squadron which will be operated from INS Parundu will have four units of two Israeli-built Searcher and Heron UAV’s, 50 sailors and 12 officers. It would effectively strengthen maritime security and surveillance along the strategic region of the East Coast.
The Indian Navy is fast expanding it’s surveillance capabilities by inducting more and more UAV’s squadrons. It is an important milestone as far as maritime surveillance of the region is concerned.
The UAV’s could remain airborne for 8 to 10 hours comfortably. Searcher aircraft could reach higher altitude of over 15000 feet. Heron was medium range and long endurance aircraft and it is a very sophisticated UAV for high altitude operation fitted with radar, camera and others.
All the necessary infrastructure such as hangar, control room, maintenance facilities, building and others things have already been established. The sanctioned personnel for UAV squadron had undergone intensive training for operating UAVs and receiving data.
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