New Squadrons of Dornier Aircraft to Boost Maritime Surveillance

Deliveries start for 12 Dornier Aircraft for the new Naval Squadrons to be based in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu

The government of India has sanctioned three new Naval Air Squadrons to be setup in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, of 12 Dornier aircraft to boost coastal surveillance. The government has also sanctioned manpower towards manning additional aircraft in existing Dornier Surveillance Squadrons in Kerala and Andaman Islands, said an official statement on 18 January.

The delivery of the 12 Dornier aircraft, the contract for which was signed with HAL (Kanpur) on 29 December 2016, is commencing from January 2019. This is a substantial contract for the indigenous HAL built Maritime Surveillance version of the Dornier 228 aircraft.




The statement said the new Dornier 228 aircraft being delivered under this contract are fitted with improved state of the art sensors and equipment, which includes glass cockpit, Advanced Surveillance Radar, ELINT, optical sensors and networking features. The aircraft would enhance Maritime Domain Awareness of Indian Navy through round-the-clock sensor-based surveillance and provide targeting data in areas of operation to ward off terror and other threats from sea.

“This addition would further strengthen Indian Navy’s efforts at coastal security of the nation’s vast coastline of over 7000 kilometres,” the statement added.

The new squadrons will augment the already existing Dornier squadrons in Kerala and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.