Structure
Flag Officer Naval Avition (FONA) controls training, maintenance and other functions of naval aviation. Aircraft yards at Kochi, Kerala and Dabolim, Goa are responsible for maintaining the fleet's air arm. An exclusive base, INS Shikra for helicopters was commissioned in Mumbai.
To protect and preserve India's growing trade with Southeast Asia and offer a defence against increasing Chinese naval presence in the Bay of Bengal, a new naval base is being built near Visakhapatnam. It is expected to be capable of harboring two aircraft carriers, including the planned new Vikrant-class aircraft carrier. There are two more naval air stations, INS Rajali and INS Parundu in Tamil Nadu.
Southern Command has at least one airfield, INS Garuda, in Kochi, Kerala. The Hindu reported on 2 February 2009 that a new airbase will be set up in Muscat, Oman to tackle piracy in the Gulf of Aden. Three years later in 2012 it is not clear whether any action has been taken on this proposal. The southernmost naval air station, INS Bazz was formally opened on 31 July 2012 by the Chief of the Indian Navy at Cambell Bay in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. With the commissioning of this station, the country acquired increased capability to keep vigil on the vital maritime channel of the Straits of Malacca.
Read more about this topic: Indian Naval Air Arm
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—Noam Chomsky (b. 1928)
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