Naval Air Station
An Indian naval air station located near Uchipuli has been in operation since 1982 at the site of the abandoned Ramnad Civil Aerodrome. Initially known as INS Rajali II, it was formally recommissioned as "INS Parundu" on 26 March 2009 by the Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sureesh Mehta.
INS Parundu is used primarily as a reconnaissance station to monitor the South East Bay of Bengal, the Palk Strait, and the Gulf of Mannar. A number of naval air squadrons operating Dornier Do 228 and Britten-Norman Islander aircraft, HAL Chetak helicopters and UAV squadrons are based here.
In 2007, Tamil Nadu Police recovered 1950 detonators hidden in a coconut grove at Uchipuli. They were suspected to have been stashed there by the LTTE for use against Sri Lankan Military.
Read more about this topic: Uchipuli
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