Western Naval Command

Western Naval Command
INS Viraat, operating during Exercise Malabar
Country  India
Headquarters Mumbai, Maharashtra
Commanders
Flag Officer Commanding in Chief Vice Admiral Girish Luthra[1]
FOC Western Fleet Rear Admiral RB Pandit[2]

The Western Naval Command (पश्चिमी नौसेना कमान) is a formation of the Indian Navy.[3] It has its HQ in Mumbai, Maharashtra and is commanded by Vice Admiral Girish Luhtra .[4]

Area of responsibility

The Western Naval Command (WNC) is the sword arm of the Indian Navy and naval operations conducted on the western seaboard would be central to the outcome of any conflict at sea against Pakistan. The western fleet is the two-star level operational formation of the Western Naval Command. It utilizes Mumbai and Karwar as its home ports, with INS Kunjali its HQ in Mumbai. The fleet at the WNC is based under Flag Officer Maharashtra Area (FOMA) and provides naval defence in the sensitive north Arabian Sea adjacent to Pakistan. INS Kadamba, a large naval base, was constructed under Project Seabird and completed in 2005. This naval base, at Karwar in Karnataka, is used exclusively by the Indian Navy.[3]

Capabilities

INS Viraat is the Flagship of the Western Fleet. The WNC is equipped with submarine pens, a carrier dock and main maintenance dockyards.

The Carrier Battle Group of the Western Fleet has the aircraft carriers INS Viraat and INS Vikramaditya, Delhi class destroyers, Talwar class frigates , Brahmaputra class frigates , INS Kolkata Indian navy's brand new destroyer[5] and Sindhughosh class submarines. The Naval Aviation is provided by Sea Harrier strike aircraft and MiG-29K fighters along with airborne early warning Kamov Ka-31 Helicopters.

Full-fledged shipbuilding facilities on the western seaboard include the Mazagon Dock Limited in Mumbai, the Goa Shipyard Limited and the Cochin Shipyard Ltd in Kerala, which is India's largest repair dry dock.

Organization

The Western Naval Command is organized as follows:[6]

Post Current Holder References
Flag Officer Commanding in Chief Vice Admiral Girish Luthra
Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet Rear_Admiral RB Pandit
Flag Officer Maharashtra and Gujarat Area (FOMAG) Rear Admiral Sanjay Mahindru [7]
Flag Officer Goa Area (FOGA) Rear Admiral Puneet Kumar Bahl [8]
Commodore Commanding Submarines (COMCOS) - West
Flag Officer Naval Aviation (FONA) Rear Admiral Puneet Kumar Bahl [8]
Flag Officer Offshore Defence Advisory Group (FODAG)
Flag Officer Karnataka Naval Area (FOK)
Admiral Superintendent Dockyard (ASD) - Mumbai Rear Admiral Sanjeev Kale, VSM [9]
Naval Officer In-Charge (NOIC) - Maharashtra
Naval Officer In-Charge (NOIC) - Gujarat Captain Kalpesh Rawal [10]
Naval Officer In-Charge (NOIC) - Karnataka
Naval Officer In-Charge (NOIC) - Goa

Naval bases

Naval bases under Western Naval Command are the following[11]

Base City State/Territory Role
INS Dwarka Okha Gujarat Logistics and Maintenance support
INS Sardar Patel[12] Porbandar Gujarat Logistics Support
INS Kadamba Karwar Karnataka Logistics and Maintenance support
INS Vajrakosh Karwar Karnataka Naval ammunition and missile depot
INHS Patanjali Karwar Karnataka Naval Hospital
INS Gomantak Panaji Goa Logistics and Maintenance support
INS Hansa Dabolim Goa Naval Air Station
INHS Jeevanti Vasco-da-gama Goa Naval Hospital
INS Angre Mumbai Maharashtra Logistics and Administrative support
INS Abhimanyu Mumbai Maharashtra MARCOS base
INS Agnibahu Mumbai Maharashtra Missile boat squadron base
INHS Asvini Mumbai Maharashtra Naval Hospital
INS Kunjai Mumbai Maharashtra Naval Air Station
INS Shikra Mumbai Maharashtra Naval Air Station
INS Tanaji Mumbai Maharashtra Naval ammunition depot
INS Trata Mumbai Maharashtra Coastal Missile Defense
INS Tunir Mumbai Maharashtra Naval missile depot
INS Vajrabahu Mumbai Maharashtra Submarine base

References

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