Navy to de-induct Long Range Martime Aircraft TU-142M

At an event to be held at the Indian Naval Air Station INS Rajali at Arakkonam, the TU 142M would be formally de-inducted by Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba, who would also induct the Boeing P-8l which has proven all its systems and has been fully integrated into the operational grid of the Navy. 

Commander Yogender Mair, the last Commanding Officer of the squadron with TU 142M will hand over the reins to Commander V Ranganathan, who will  be the first Squadron Commanding Officer with P-8I. A TU Static Display Aircraft would also be inaugurated by the Chief of Naval Staff at INS Rajali to commemorate the services rendered by TU 142M. 

The Silver Jubilee celebrations of the INS Rajali would also be held on the occasion. The event would conclude with a flypast comprising fixed and rotary wing aircraft of the Indian Naval Air Arm.  

Defence sources said the TU-142M Long Range Maritime Patrol aircraft was inducted into the Indian Navy at Dabolim Goa from erstwhile USSR on April 16, 1988, by the then Defence Minister K C Pant at INS Hansa. 

The aircraft subsequently shifted base permanently to INS Rajali in 1992 and became the most formidable LRMR ASW aircraft of the Indian Navy. The role of TU-142M will now be taken on by the newly inducted P-8l aircraft. 

The Boeing P-8I aircraft, dedicated to the nation by the former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on November 13, 2015, is the third aircraft after the Lockheed L1049G Super Constellation and the TU-142M aircraft to be operated by INAS 312.

Admiral Sunil Lanba, PVSM, AVSM, ADC Chief of the Naval Staff, inaugurated the first ever ‘Integrated Automatic Aviation Meteorological System (IAAMS)’ at INS Rajali on Tuesday.  It is an ambitious project of the Indian Navy to modernise the meteorological infrastructure of the nine Naval Air Stations (NAS). INS Rajali at Arakkonam was identified for setting up this sophisticated system on a ‘Test Bed’ site, where the system has been tested for its reliability and performance.