Su-30 MKI

[p2prada]

I am not going to argue on this.

 

[Bhadra]

 

[Kunal Biswas]

 

[Armand2REP]

What airbase is that?

 

[Kunal Biswas]

What airbase is that?

Car Nicobar Airbase..

 

[Armand2REP]

They are stationed there now? All I see are a couple of helicopters.

 

[Kunal Biswas]

They are stationed there now? All I see are a couple of helicopters.

There is not much known, But its known they are stationed there..

 

[trackwhack]

They are stationed there now? All I see are a couple of helicopters.

If you are referring to google maps, you should know better.

 

[Zebra]

http://defenceforumindia.com/forum/indian-navy/24352-can-india-do-falklands-war-type-campaign-if-plan-takes-over-andamans-16.html

 

[Armand2REP]

If you are referring to google maps, you should know better.

The hanger can't house more than a couple fighters. It is a helicopter base.

 

[trackwhack]

The hanger can't house more than a couple fighters. It is a helicopter base.

Those maps have not changed since Google Earth first started showing them.

 

[p2prada]

The hanger can't house more than a couple fighters. It is a helicopter base.

Yeah. No MKIs on that base. The max that base ever had was 2 Ks before 2004. I don't know which base that pic is from but there are no MKIs in Andamans. IAF supports the islands from Kalaikunda, like I had mentioned in the Falklands thread.

Only the Navy is planning on stationing a squadron of Mig-29Ks there, but we don't know when.

The base there is not even remotely prepared to house half a squadron of aircraft let alone MKIs.

 

[p2prada]

There are three major airbases in the area.

One is the airport in Port Blair which is shared by the Air Force and Civilians.

One is the Air Force Station in Car Nicobar.

One is the Naval Air Station in Campbell Bay at Great Nicobar. The base is called NAS Baaz. A friend of mine was deployed there and later in Port Blair.

The last two bases are militarized and only Baaz will have fighter jets from what we know.

There is a smaller NAS Shibpur in Andamans too. But not for fighter operations.

 

[Armand2REP]

You are right... the new base will be built at Campbell Bay. There currently is no presence.

Countering China: India's Baaz to spy on the Malacca Strait | NDTV.com

 

[p2prada]

The bases are shore based and after the IAF lost some 100 odd personnel to the Tsunami it was decided they won't deploy fighters there.

All 3 wings will use the new base from now on.

Car Nicobar will only handle helicopters and some transports. We may see one or two P-8Is deployed at Baaz apart from Mig-29s.

There is a chance we may form some sort of joint agreement with Singapore to conduct joint patrols and share intelligence. They have five squadrons of F-15s and F-16s and will be backed by 2 squadrons of MKIs from Kalaikunda and a squadron of Mig-29s from Baaz. Plenty for joint ops against any enemy.

Someday RSAF will have refurbished P-3C Orions too. They already have 4 Israeli Eitam AEW&Cs, so that's a good thing. Perhaps we can even have interoperability on a much larger scale, especially if they opt to use the same datalinks as the Israeli supplied ODLs for IAF.

 

[Armand2REP]

So Baaz will be the fighter base but it isn't a permanent fighter station because of Tsunamis?

 

[p2prada]

So Baaz will be the fighter base but it isn't a permanent fighter station because of Tsunamis?

The risk exists, but there may not be a Tsunami for another 100 years. So, you never know. There was a Tsunami warning in April, but it was a false alarm even though the earthquake in Indonesia was big.

Baaz was a small base at the time of the Tsunami and the damage wasn't as severe.

Baaz will be equipped with fighters as long as another Tsunami does not show up. I don't know if precautions will be taken, like high walls, rocks and boulders on the beach etc. Even if there is damage from a Tsunami, there is no way of knowing what the top brass will decide after that.

 

[bhramos]

 

[Kunal Biswas]

That is a near cousin of MKI is Su-27 flanker variant..

 

[Kunal Biswas]