INS Kohassa

13.237982°N 93.049944°E / 13.237982; 93.049944

INS Kohassa
IATA: none ICAO: VODX
Summary
Airport type	Naval Air Station
Operator	Indian Navy
Location	Shibpur, Diglipur, Andaman & Nicobar Islands
Coordinates	13°14′0″N 93°3′0″E
Map
VODX Show map of Andaman and Nicobar Islands VODX Show map of India
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 1,006 3,301
[1][2]

INS Kohassa^[3][4] (ICAO: VODX)^[5] is an Indian naval air station under the Andaman and Nicobar Command of the Indian Armed Forces. It is located at Shibpur, a village located on North Andaman Island.^[6][7]

History

INS Kohassa was established as Naval Air Station (NAS) Shibpur in 2001 as a Forward Operating Air Base (FOAB) for enhanced surveillance in North Andaman. Presently, Dornier 228 aircraft and HAL Chetak helicopters of the navy and the Indian Coast Guard land at Shibpur once in a week, on their transit for surveillance of North Andaman Islands. In addition, the Indian Air Force operates its Dornier aircraft between Port Blair and Diglipur every Thursday for courier duties. In 2009, the government of India accorded sanction to commission NAS Shibpur as a full-fledged air station.^[8] The length of the runway is being extended to 12,000 ft and will enable day and night operations.^[9]

Dornier 228s of the navy and coast guard conducted search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 from this base.^{[citation needed]}

In 2017, it was reported that the runway length would be extended to 3000m after acquisition of about 100 hectares of land. This will enable the operation of wide-bodied civil and defense flights.^{[citation needed]} The station, earlier known as NAS Shibpur, was renamed as INS Kohassa after the extension of facilities in January 2019.^[10][11]

See also

Indian navy

• List of Indian Navy bases
• List of active Indian Navy ships

Integrated commands and units

• Armed Forces Special Operations Division
• Defence Cyber Agency
• Integrated Defence Staff
• Integrated Space Cell
• Indian Nuclear Command Authority
• Indian Armed Forces
• Special Forces of India

Other lists

• Strategic Forces Command
• List of Indian Air Force stations
• List of Indian Navy bases
• India's overseas military bases

References

1. http://airportguide.com/airport/India/Andaman_and_Nicobar_Islands/Madhupur-IN-0053/ Airportguide.com
2. http://skyvector.com/airport/VODX/Shibpur-Naval-Air-Station-Airport SkyVector Shibpur
3. "INS Kohassa – a New Bird's Nest in the Andamans". Press Information Bureau, Government of India. 24 January 2019. Archived from the original on 25 January 2019.
4. "Headquarters Andaman Nicobar Command ANC to enhance its operational capability with the upcoming commissioning of INS Kohassa". Press Information Bureau, Government of India. 18 January 2019. Archived from the original on 25 January 2019.
5. "VODX - Shibpur [NAS Shibpur], AN, IN - Airport - Great Circle Mapper". www.gcmap.com.
6. Pandit, Rajat (6 February 2010). "Strategically-important A&N Command to get a boost". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
7. "Andamans, not just an Indian mainland buffer". Frontier India. 3 August 2012. Archived from the original on 27 December 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
8. "Naval Aviation - Air Stations". Indian Navy. Indian Navy. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
9. "Tiger Outsmarts Dragon in Andaman Waters". The New Indian Express. 23 March 2014. Archived from the original on 23 March 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
10. "India adds more teeth in Andamans, Indian Navy to get new airbase 'INS Kohasa'". 6 January 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
11. @indiannavy (24 January 2019). "INS Kohassa - A new bird's nest in the Andamans commissioned by Admiral Sunil Lanba CNS" (Tweet) – via Twitter.