India Opens New Naval Base

New Delhi, July 31 — India Tuesday opened a new naval base at the Andaman and Nicobar Islands southernmost fringe of Campbell Bay, giving it the ability to keep an eye on the maritime traffic and security scenario in the Strait of Malacca and the Six Degree Channel.

Indian Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma declared the naval base, INS Baaz (Hawk), operational in the presence of tri-service Andaman and Nicobar Command chief Lt. Gen. Naresh C. Marwah and Chief of Integrated Defense Staff Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha.

“One of the primary functions of INS Baaz will be to provide information, based on airborne maritime surveillance,” Verma said after the opening ceremony.

“Maritime domain awareness is the key to effective and informed decision making in the maritime arena. Despite numerous advancements in the field of information gathering over sea, airborne surveillance, using aircraft and UAVs, remains invaluable,” he said.

INS Baaz is situated at a distance of about 300 nautical miles from Port Blair and is the southernmost military station of the Indian armed forces.

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Article courtesy of NY Daily News.