Tamil Nadu: Navy Vice Chief reviews operations of P-8I surveillance aircraft

Navy Vice Chief, Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar on Tuesday reviewed the operations of the P-8I aircraft.

The Navy vice chief reviewed the operation of the naval surveillance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft at the naval base INS Rajali on October 1.

Indian Navy in a tweet said, "OperationalReview VAdm G Ashok Kumar, Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS) reviews Operations & Infrastructure on his maiden visit to INSRajali Arakkonam 01 Oct 19. He was briefed on P8I Ops, HelicopterTraining & maintenance activities and ongoing infrastructure work."

The Vice Chief of Naval Staff commended the personnel on their excellent work done by the air station and sensitized them on the security concerns in the region.

The P-8I aircraft is a variant of the P-8A Poseidon aircraft that Boeing developed as a replacement for the US Navy's ageing P-3 fleet. Indian Navy became the first international customer for the P-8 aircraft with the conclusion of the nearly US $ 2.1 billion contract on Jan 1, 2009, for a total of eight aircraft.

The P-8I aircraft is equipped for long-range anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in support of the broad area, maritime and littoral operations. Its communication and sensor suite includes indigenous equipment developed by defence PSUs and private manufacturers. With its high speed and high endurance of about 10 hours, the aircraft is capable of thrusting a punitive response and maintaining a watch over India's immediate and extended areas of interest.

The aircrafts are based at INS Rajali and are operated by Indian Naval Air Squadron 312A.