Indian navy will operate 300 aircrafts including helicopters by 2020 said the Indian Naval Chief Admiral sureesh Mehta PVSM,ASM, ADC. He said this during a press conference after commissioning INS Shikra on 22nd January.

The navy chief said that navy plans to open many more airbases and Air Squadrons. The immediate plan will be to commission two more air squadrons at Vishakhapatnam and a naval air station at Ramnad.

INS Shikra, the helicopter base was formerly called NAS Kunjali II. At the time of its inception, this air station was primarily meant to support the Alouette (Chetak) helicopters of INS Vikrant and INS Darshak. In 1995, INAS 330 was shifted from Cochin to Mumbai. In 1998, it was renamed to Naval Air Station Kunjali II. This base supports helicopters from Indian Coast Guard, Air Force and Indian Army too. It also provides Air Traffic Services for civil helicopters operating south of Santa Cruz airport.

INS Shikra had been the nerve center of NSG commando operations against the Pakistani terrorist attack on the city of Mumbai recently.