Place in news: INS Baaz

• Recently Navy Chief Admiral visited INS Baaz, the southernmost air station of the Indian Armed Forces.

INS Baaz

• The Indian Naval Station (INS) ‘Baaz’ was commissioned in July 2012, and is the southernmost air station of the Indian Armed Forces.
• INS Baaz is located at Campbell Bay on the Great Nicobar island, the southernmost and largest island in the UT of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• 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.
• This island is also the location of the Indira Point and is less than 250 km by sea from Banda Aceh in Indonesia.
• Campbell Bay, where the base is located, is more than 1,500 km away from the Indian mainland, and 500 km from Port Blair.

Significance

• The A&N Islands are strategically important for India’s national security as they provide a critical capability to monitor sea areas in the region.
• The primary functions of the INS Baaz include helping build Maritime Domain Awareness by providing information via airborne surveillance using aircraft and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).
• The base was first equipped with a runway of 3,500 feet but was later lengthened to enable larger aircraft to operate from it.
• 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.
• It is 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. The INS Baaz helps to ensure maritime security in the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea.
• The base also assists the local populace in times of need such as facilitating evacuation during medical emergencies.