The Indian Navy opened a new air base at Santa Cruz, Mumbai on Wednesday.
The newly inaugurated Naval Air Enclave Santa Cruz has a big hangar and a large dispersal providing the Indian Navy with the capability to accomodate all types of fixed wing aircraft including the Boeing P8I long range maritime reconnaissance (LRMR) aircraft.
This gives a major boost to the surveillance and offensive measures on the Western Seaboard.
P8I LRMR aircraft are presently operating from their base at Arakkonam, near Chennai. With the operationalization of the NAE at Santa Cruz, the Indian Navy can operate the P8I’s from this enclave thereby enabling them to operate for longer durations in the Arabian Sea.
In his address, Vice Admiral Girish Luthra complimented the efforts of all those involved in creating this facility. He said that the city of Mumbai and Indian Navy have had long standing relations which were not restricted to the dockyard or harbour areas.