Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh soon may become a ‘strategic base’ for the Indian Air Force (IAF) with the Air Security wing planning underway. Among the important plans of IAF, a major helicopter training facility may come up at Donakonda in Prakasam district.

According to top bureaucratic sources, the other plans include, setting up of a drone manufacturing facility in the Anantapur district, a cyber security center in the city of Amaravati and giving the Rajahmundry and Vijayawada airports the status of asset positioning bases.

“On our part, we have constituted a task team to coordinate with the IAF on these projects. A preliminary ground survey has also been done to identify suitable locations and we have asked the IAF to submit detailed project reports,” a top bureaucrat involved in the process told news agencies.

To bolster its efforts to strengthen vigil across the east coast, the IAF has come up with the proposal to utilize the existing civilian airports located in Rajahmundry and Vijayawada for positioning of its assets – like the fighter and other aircraft.

Currently, IAF has got a base at Arakkonam located near Chennai, while the Navy has got INS Dega in Visakhapatnam.

“In view of the growing strategic importance of the east coast and China moving fast, the IAF intends to strengthen its presence in the region. Setting up asset positioning bases in Andhra Pradesh is part of the strategy,” the bureaucrat said on condition of anonymity.

Along with that, IAF helicopters and other aircraft would be positioned at these bases to utilize them in case of rescue and relief operations for natural calamities.

As of now, the top brass of IAF has already held at least three rounds of meetings with the state’s Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and discussed all these projects with him.

Earlier last week, the Southern Command Chief of IAF Air Marshal B Suresh and his team held a meeting with the chief minister and proposed in a fresh manner to develop Air Force Enclaves at different strategic locations in the state.

Initially, the state government offered 2,700 acres of land at Donakonda location, which was earlier used as World War-II airstrip and now it is abandoned, to come up with a helicopter training facility.

In this regard, the IAF communicated to the state government that it required less extent of land and according to the request, 1200 acres of land has been allocated for the project.

“About 300 acre of this parcel of land will be given to Airports Authority of India for civilian aircraft operations and the rest to the IAF for the helicopter training facility,” a senior bureaucrat in the revenue department said.

The intention of the IAF is to set up a drone manufacturing facility in Anantapur district due to the fact that it is very close to the Yelahanka Air Base near Bengaluru. The cost of the whole project and other details are being worked out.

Apart from that, the IAF has asked for land at Suryalanka region in Guntur district to expand the present Air Force Station. Along with that, it has also made a demand for land in Nellore and Bhogapuram too for the Air Force Enclaves.

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