Kochi. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Indian Navy (IN) and India Meteorological Department (IMD) was signed at Naval Base, Kochi on 28 Aug 19 for the handing over of Cyclone Detection Radar (CDR) building by IMD to the IN. Rear Admiral RJ Nadkarni, AVSM, VSM, Chief of Staff, Southern Naval Command (SNC) and Dr D Pradhan, Scientist ‘G’, Additional Director General of Meteorology (Instruments), IMD, Delhi signed the MoU on behalf of IMD and IN respectively. The MoU will enable the IN to utilise the CDR building within naval premises at Kochi for meteorological purposes.
The CDR building was constructed during the period 1983–86 inside the Naval Base, having an S-band Cyclone Detection Radar installed by M/s Bharat Electronics Limited. The facility was operated by IMD from 1987-2017 to provide weather support for civil aviation at the old Kochi Airport – presently the Naval Air Station INS Garuda. In 2017, IMD commenced operating a new Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) at Mundamveli, Kochi as the S-band radar had become obsolete. The CDR building had been lying vacant and unused since then. Based on a request by the IN, IMD has agreed to hand over the building permanently for meteorological purposes.
The keys of the building were handed over by Dr Pradhan to Commodore Deepak Kumar, Chief Staff Officer (Operations), SNC in the presence of Commodore Manoj Kumar Singh, Commodore (Naval Oceanology and Meteorology), Naval Headquarters, New Delhi. The building is set to be utilised by Indian Naval Meteorological Analysis Centre (INMAC), an operational unit set up in 2013 with the mandate to provide daily meteorological information/ forecasts to users across the Navy such as IN ships and establishments.
