Minicoy island to see deployment of BrahMos missiles in future as part of expansion

Indian Navy's new base on Minicoy Island will enhance surveillance and missile capabilities, strengthening India's security in the region.

Radars, jetties, airfield and BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles - the Indian Navy’s newest base being established on Minicoy Island in Lakshadweep, INS Jatayu, will have all these and many more. The upgrade is part of a long-term capability development plan which officials and experts say will shore up India’s security footprint in the islands located very close to critical Sea Lanes of Communication (SLOC).

This is especially significant as Chinese naval footprint, which includes ‘research vessels’, has seen massive expansion in the Indian Ocean. Minicoy is also just few hundred miles from Maldives.

In addition to INS Jatayu, new infrastructure and facilities were inaugurated at the Karwar naval base in Karnataka by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday. These include two major piers and seven residential towers comprising 320 houses for officers and civilian defence personnel as well as 149 single officers’ accommodation.

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“New radar facilities at Minicoy will augment surveillance and coastal batteries of extended range BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles with a range of around 450 km will give huge flexibility in responding to threats,” officials in the know said. It will be a phased expansion and in sync with the overall effort to develop the island chains around the country, officials stated.

“As we commission Jatayu, it is crucial to recognise the pressing need for heightened surveillance amidst the prevailing geopolitical developments which underscore the strategic significance of Lakshadweep to India. The Indian Ocean Region is witnessing an upsurge in maritime terror, crime, and piracy,” Navy Chief Admiral R. Hari Kumar said at the commissioning of INS Jatayu. “INS Baaz to the east in Andamans and now, INS Jatayu in the west at Minicoy, will serve as the eyes and ears of the Navy,” he stated.

Lakshadweep, India’s smallest Union Territory, is an archipelago consisting of 36 islands with an area of 32 sq km. It comprises 12 atolls, three reefs, five submerged banks and 10 inhabited islands. All Islands are 220-440 km away from Kochi in Kerala.