Internal Security
INS Baaz
- 11 Nov 2019
- 2 min read
Why in News
Recently, the Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh visited INS Baaz, the southernmost air station of the Indian Armed Forces.
- The Indian Naval Ship (INS) Baaz is located at Campbell Bay on the Great Nicobar island, the southernmost and largest island of the Nicobar islands, in the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- It was commissioned in July 2012.
- It is a part of the Andaman and Nicobar Command, the only tri-services formation of the Indian Armed Forces that was started in 2001.
Functions of INS Baaz
- Helps in building maritime domain awareness by providing information via airborne surveillance using aircraft and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).
- Ensures maritime security in the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea and substantially enhances the Indian Navy’s maritime surveillance capability.
- Assists the local populace in times of need such as facilitating evacuation during medical emergencies.
Significance of the Location
- The Great Nicobar Island is the location of the Indira Point and is less than 250 km by sea from Banda Aceh in Indonesia.
- The Andaman & Nicobar Islands are strategically important for India’s national security as they provide a critical capability to monitor sea areas in the region.
- The location has been described as India’s “window into East and Southeast Asia”, and is in close vicinity of the Six Degree Channel, also called the Great Channel, one of the Indian Ocean’s busiest shipping lines, carrying strategic cargo to East Asian countries.
- It is also close to the Strait of Malacca.
