BHUBANESWAR: In a big leap towards enhancing maritime security and conducting search and rescue operations, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on Sunday formally commissioned its 830 Squadron by inducting new advanced light helicopter (ALH) MK-III here.
Director-General ICG VS Pathania commissioned the squadron that will extensively cover the Odisha-West Bengal coast in a formal ceremony at ICG Air Enclave here.
A total of 16 ALH MK-III helicopters will be inducted in ICG. Twelve have already been included in the squadron with four deployed in Bhubaneswar to cover the entire West Bengal-Odisha coasts and beyond. They will enhance the maritime capabilities of ICG, Pathania said.
Under the ‘Make in India’ initiative, ALH MK-III helicopters have been indigenously developed and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bengaluru. The helicopters are equipped with state-of-the-art sensors and modern surveillance radar/electro-optical equipment to conduct long-range maritime reconnaissance.
The choppers are equipped with Shakti engines, full glass cockpit, high-intensity searchlight, traffic alert and collision avoidance system, advanced communication system, automatic identification system, search and rescue homer and automatic flight control system. They are also equipped with a heavy machine gun to undertake constabulary missions at sea, and a portable medical intensive care unit (MICU) to facilitate shifting of critically ill patients during medical evacuations.
The 830 Squadron at ICG Air Enclave in Bhubaneswar was launched on June 17, 2021. It has since flown over 1,200 hours and conducted numerous operational missions like medical evacuations, day/night ship-helicopter operational limitations (SHOL), trial landings at helipads in Odisha and West Bengal region, among others.
The 830 Squadron (CG) is commanded by Commandant Anurup Singh. It is manned by 11 officers and 46 personnel. The four helicopters are positioned in Bhubaneswar within the operational command of coast guard district headquarters, Odisha, and under coast guard region (north-east), Kolkata.