Active and Alert

Palak Gupta

In March, the Indian Navy along with French Navy conducted joint patrol from the Reunion Island, a French overseas territory east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The joint patrol, which is a first-of-its-kind, is a rarity for a French non-NATO military link and was aimed at checking the traffic in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) which is witnessing an increasing security threat due to proliferation of submarines.

Earlier in February, India seized an industrial autoclave from a Chinese vessel Da Cui Yan which was headed for Karachi. Since industrial autoclave has military applications as well and could be used for missile and rocket development, eyebrows were expectedly raised in New Delhi.

With a coastline of 7,516.6km, patrol/ reconnaissance aircraft are crucial for Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA). These aircraft are designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence (including using photography), signals intelligence, as well as measurement and signature intelligence. For this purpose, the Indian Navy inventory includes fixed wing platforms such as Boeing’s P-8I, Ilyushin’s Il-38 and Dornier Do-228.

Indian Navy’s P8I aircraft

Boeing’s P-8I

The P-8A Poseidon was developed for the US Navy. The Indian Navy operates a P-8A version designated as P-8I. Boeing P-8I aircraft is a long-range, multi-mission maritime patrol aircraft. India presently operates eight P-8Is with four more in production. These were to be delivered in the first quarter of 2020, however, with Covid-19 pandemic, the delivery schedule will be revised. Meanwhile, negotiations for procurement of six additional P-8Is are underway.

The Indian Navy operates its entire fleet of P-8I maritime patrol aircraft from Rajali, the naval base in Arakkonam, Tamil Nadu. As a part of an agreement between India and Boeing, a 60,000 sq ft Training Support and Dat