| INS Kattabomman | |
|---|---|
| Tirunelveli,Tamil Nadu | |
 INS Kattabomman, VLF transmitting station of Indian Navy | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Naval station |
| Controlled by | Indian Navy |
 | |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1990 (1990) |
| In use | 1990–present |
| Garrison information | |
| Occupants | Southern Naval Command |
INS Kattabomman is the designation of the VLF-transmission facility of theIndian Navy situated atVijayanarayanam nearTirunelveli inTamil Nadu.[1] The facility spread over 3,000 acres has 13 masts, which are arranged in two rings around the central mast. The centre mast has a height of 301 metres, the masts on the inner ring measure 276.4 metres, that on the outer ring measure 227.4 metres. The facility broadcasts at frequencies of 16.3 kHz, 17.0 kHz, 18.2 kHz, and 19.2 kHz.[2]
Two further masts of the station carrying an umbrella antenna, the INS Kattabomman is 471 metres tall and thetallest structure in India. They are also thetallest military structure in the world. The facility opened anELF transmission facility in 2014.[3][4]
Development and construction of INS Kattabomman started in 1984 as Project Skylark and costed₹122 crore (equivalent to₹11 billion or US$120 million in 2023).[5] It was commissioned into service by Indian PresidentRamaswamy Venkataraman on 20 October 1990. It is named after kingVeera Pandya Kattabomman, who died during theIndian independence movement.[1]
After operationalising the base, India became the seventh country in the world to have developed theVery low frequency communication capability.[6]
On 31 July 2014, a newVery low frequency facility was inaugurated at INS Kattabomman. The upgrade was contracted toLarsen & Toubro.[7] The upgrade included digitising the control interface.[6]
AnExtremely low frequency communication facility is also present near the VLF facility, construction of which commenced in March 2012.[4] The facility is used by theNuclear Command Authority to communicate with theArihant-class submarines.[8]
India is the second country afterRussia to actively operate anExtremely low frequency facility; theUnited States had discontinued using it in 2004. Another such facility is proposed inDamagundam Reserve Forest (approximately at 17°16'N 77°56'E ).[9] This 2nd facility had the foundation stone laid in Oct 15 2024 with a plan to be operational by 2027.[10]
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8°23′13″N77°45′10″E / 8.3870°N 77.7529°E /8.3870; 77.7529
