Upgraded Car Nicobar runway boosts India’s reach near Malacca Strait
New Delhi, January 3. India has significantly strengthened its air power footprint in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands with the inauguration of a modernised runway at the Indian Air Force’s Car Nicobar air base by Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan on January 2.
The resurfaced and upgraded runway, along with an expanded aircraft apron, will allow faster turnaround of multiple aircraft by enabling simultaneous parking, refuelling and servicing. This is expected to sharply improve operational tempo and readiness at one of India’s most strategically located airfields.
New facilities have also been created to base Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jets, including those equipped with the 500-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, greatly extending India’s strike and surveillance envelope in the eastern Indian Ocean. The upgraded surface can now handle heavier transport aircraft, while enhanced storage and logistics infrastructure will support sustained and high-intensity air operations.
Car Nicobar’s importance lies in its location – around 535 km south of Port Blair (Sri Vijaya Puram) and close to the Malacca Strait, one of the world’s busiest maritime chokepoints. More than 96,000 vessels transit the strait every year, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, making the air base a key node in India’s maritime and air surveillance network.
The air station falls under the Andaman and Nicobar Command, India’s only tri-service theatre command that integrates the Army, Navy and Air Force under a single operational structure.
In parallel, India has formally begun work to develop a second airfield on Great Nicobar Island, the country’s southernmost territory overlooking the Malacca Strait. The existing naval air base, INS Baaz at Campbell Bay, is being expanded to support operations by special operations aircraft, C-130J transporters, Airbus C-295s and Dornier maritime surveillance planes.
The Navy is also pushing ahead with broader air infrastructure upgrades in the island chain, including runway expansion at INS Kohassa in North Andaman to accommodate larger military aircraft, alongside new ammunition depots and increased capacity for fighter deployments – further reinforcing India’s strategic presence in the eastern Indian Ocean.
