INS Shikra
IATA:none ICAO:none
Summary
Airport type	Naval Air Station
Owner	Western Naval Command
Operator	Indian Navy
Location	Mumbai,India
Built	1964
In use	1964-present
Coordinates	18°54′49.63″N72°49′45.65″E / 18.9137861°N 72.8293472°E /18.9137861; 72.8293472
Interactive map of INS Shikra
Helipads
Number Length Surface ft m H1 300 91 Asphalt

INS Shikra, formerly known asINS Kunjali, is anIndiannaval air station located atColaba inMumbai,Maharashtra.^[1][2][3][4] It is aheliport.

INS Kunjali was commissioned as a new establishment in Mumbai, post-Independence. The locale chosen for the establishment was the old Gun Carriage Basin on the sea front in Colaba, in the heart of South Mumbai. The area was used during theSecond World War as a depot for munitions of war and as a boat repair facility. With the acquisition ofAlouette III helicopters (nowHAL Chetak) in 1963, the establishment was considered suitable for a helipad. The first time a helicopter operated from the base was on a temporary grass helipad in 1964. Alouette flights thereafter continued to operate from the helipad, on a makeshift and as required basis.

Finally, on 3 April 1972 ‘Bombay flight’ of the Goa-basedINAS 321 was established with one Alouette III helicopter, two pilots and 17 sailors. On 1 August 1980, one more Chetak was added to the flight and the role of the squadron was enhanced to include VIP flight commitment, Fleet Requirement task including tracking for weapon alignment, casualty evacuation and SAR duties. With the introduction of helicopters on board ships, the base housed and operated these helicopters, when disembarked and a helicopter maintenance facility was set up in 1983.

The Naval Air Station was renamed to INS Shikra in an impressive commissioning ceremony presided over by theChief of the Naval Staff,AdmiralSureesh Mehta,PVSM,AVSM,ADC on 22 January 2009. The commissioningcommanding officer wasCaptainPhilipose George Pynumootil.

INS Shikra has grown from a small helipad to a full-fledged Heliport providing support and maintenance facilities to the integral flights of the fleet and aviation requirements of theWestern Naval Command. The facilities continue to expand to cater for increasing numbers of helicopters being inducted on board ships. Its primary role is to provide administrative, technical and logistic support for all squadrons and flights based in Mumbai. In addition, it undertakes coastal patrol, air surveillance in the area and meets the operational flying requirements of theWestern Naval Command.

It also has a major helicopter maintenance depot providing accommodation and maintenance facilities forWestland Sea Kings,Kamov Ka 27s andHAL Chetaks, adding up to 17 helicopters and meeting a task of over 4000 flying hours annually.

Naval Air Squadrons based atINS Shikra include:

• INAS 321, asearch and rescue and logistics squadron, operatingHAL Chetak helicopters
• INAS 330, ananti-submarine warfare squadron, operatingWestland Sea King Mk.42B helicopters

Indian navy

• List of Indian Navy bases
• List of active Indian Navy ships

Integrated commands and units

• Armed Forces Special Operations Division
• Defence Cyber Agency
• Integrated Defence Staff
• Integrated Space Cell
• Indian Nuclear Command Authority
• Indian Armed Forces
• Special Forces of India

Other lists

• Strategic Forces Command
• List of Indian Air Force stations
• List of Indian Navy bases
• India's overseas military bases

Wikimedia Commons has media related toINS Shikra.

• Indian Naval Air Stations
• Military airbases established in 1964

• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from January 2020
• Use Indian English from January 2020
• All Wikipedia articles written in Indian English
• Coordinates on Wikidata
• Pages using infobox mapframe without shape links in Wikidata
• Commons category link is on Wikidata
• Pages using the Kartographer extension