Navy LCA, Hawk trainer carry out pre-monsoon sorties at INS Hansa

PANAJI: With the monsoons less than a week away, the Navy is rushing to complete trials and training exercises with the advanced jet trainer and light combat aircraft (LCA) at the shore-based test facility at Goa International Airport at Dabolim.
A detachment each of the navy’s Hawk 132 and the naval variant of the light combat aircraft landed in Goa a few days ago to undertake a set of trials before the monsoons, a naval source said.
Four Advanced Jet Trainer aircraft, the Hawk 132, were seen undertaking sorties from the Naval airbase INS Hansa at Dabolim with various configuration, including extra fuel pods.
The Hawk is used by the Navy to train pilots before they graduate to flying high performance aircraft and carrier based fighter jets, naval sources said.
Besides the Hawks, two indigenously developed light combat aircraft were also carrying out sorties from the shore-based test facility.
“The two detachments were on base for different missions. They were carrying out flying operations before the monsoons,” a naval officer said. “In fact, this is the second time this year that they have flown from here.”
Naval sources said that pre-monsoon winds offered ideal conditions for testing and fine tuning the aircraft and the pilot’s skills.
According to naval sources, the light combat aircraft undertook night flying operations and simulated landing on an aircraft carrier.
While the LCAs flew in from Bengaluru, the Hawks touched down after flying in from INS Dega, an Indian naval air station located near Visakhapatnam, in Andhra Pradesh, sources said.