On 2nd January 2026, a significant milestone in India’s defence preparedness was marked by the inauguration of the resurfaced and upgraded runway at the Air Force Station Car Nicobar by General Anil Chauhan, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). The event not only marked the completion of an infrastructure development initiative but also signalled the beginning of the transformation of India’s response capabilities in the Indian Ocean region and the larger Asia-Pacific region – operational reach, deterrence posture, and rapid-response capability.
The CDS also commissioned a new storage facility on the base and paid homage to the victims who lost their lives during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami at the Tsunami Memorial, which had inflicted severe damage on the airfield and surrounding infrastructure. The CDS’s visit therefore had an element of foresight on the one hand and solemn remembrance on the other, underlining both resilience and renewal.
Car Nicobar: Geography as Strategy
Car Nicobar occupies a strategically significant position in India’s maritime geography. It lies about 535 kilometres south of Sri Vijaya Puram (formerly Port Blair) and is the northernmost island of the Nicobar Islands subgroup of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Car Nicobar’s location gives it easy access to the Malacca Strait, one of the world’s most important sea lanes. The Malacca Strait is a critical global “lifeline” for the flow of global trade and energy, with thousands of ships passing through it every year, including a large proportion of the world’s oil and LNG cargoes. Control, surveillance, and rapid-response capability in this region are therefore of immense strategic significance – with implications not only for India’s national security but also for the entire region.
Among the Nicobar Islands, Car Nicobar has emerged as a springboard for air power, providing India with a vantage point over the southern approaches to the Malacca Strait. The island has therefore become a crucial element of India’s maritime and Indo-Pacific strategy.
The Car Nicobar Air Base falls under the Andaman and Nicobar Command, India’s only tri-service theatre command that integrates the Army, Navy, and Air Force under one operational umbrella. The ANC lies at the core of guarding India’s eastern maritime borders, securing sea lines of communication, and enabling synchronised operations across domains. Within this command framework, Car Nicobar has become an important operational node for air operations, maritime surveillance, logistics, and joint exercises. As geopolitical dynamism in the Indo-Pacific has quickened, the establishment of integrated, forward-deployed infrastructure has taken on a new sense of significance.
Scope and Nature of the Runway Upgrade
The runway upgrade at Car Nicobar represents a comprehensive enhancement of aviation infrastructure rather than a mere resurfacing. Key elements include:
- Runway Resurfacing and Strengthening. The entire runway—approximately 2.7 kilometres long and 43 metres wide—has been resurfaced and structurally strengthened. This upgrade enables the operation of heavier aircraft, higher sortie rates, and sustained high-tempo air operations.
- Expanded Apron Areas. The apron has been significantly enlarged, enabling simultaneous parking, refuelling, and rapid turnaround of multiple aircraft. This enhancement directly translates into a higher operational tempo and greater flexibility during both routine operations and crises.
- New Taxi Track with Dual-Use Capability. A newly constructed taxi track can also serve as a secondary or emergency runway during contingencies, rescue operations, or periods of intense operational activity. This redundancy enhances the resilience and survivability of air operations.
- Associated Infrastructure Enhancements. Upgrades to fuel storage, logistics facilities, and sustainment infrastructure improve the induction, housing, and long-term deployment of frontline combat assets, ensuring operational continuity in a remote island environment.
Operational Impact on the Indian Air Force
The enhanced/upgraded infrastructure provides a significant boost to the Indian Air Force’s operational readiness in Car Nicobar. The airbase is now capable of handling a range of platforms, including:
- Fighter jets like Su-30 MKI, Mirage, and Jaguar planes
- Transport Aircraft: C-130J Super Hercules
- Rotary-wing aircraft, specifically the Mi-17 V5
- Maritime surveillance and ISR platforms: P-8I operations
With improved strength of the runway, apron, and maintenance support facilities, the Indian Air Force has become capable of undertaking rapid-deployment missions, extended-range firing exercises, surveillance missions, and continuous air presence, with shorter turnaround times. Importantly, modernisation increases India’s ability to rapidly project its airpower across the Eastern Indian Ocean and to improve response times during both military contingencies and humanitarian missions.
Strategic Deterrence and Maritime Domain Awareness
One of the most significant strategic dividends of the Car Nicobar runway upgrade is the further enhancement of maritime domain awareness. The location of the air base near the Malacca Straits enables constant tracking of marine traffic through one of the busiest and critically sensitive maritime chokepoints worldwide.
For India, the enhancement strengthens its surveillance, reconnaissance, and rapid-response capabilities, enabling it to better defend against hostile activities, monitor non-traditional threats, and protect maritime routes essential to global economic security. Defence analysts generally view it as a measure that symbolises India’s effort to strengthen its eastern maritime boundary.
Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR)
In addition to its military utility, the upgraded runway significantly enhances the HADR response capability. This region is prone to earthquakes, tsunamis, and cyclones, making the rapid mobilisation of relief forces essential. With enhanced runway strength and logistics support, Car Nicobar can now serve as a hub for the swift deployment of relief supplies, medical teams, and evacuation missions, both within India and across neighbouring littoral regions. This capability reinforces India’s image as a first responder to emergencies and a responsible security provider in the Indian Ocean Region.
Civil Aviation and Dual-Use Benefits
The upgraded runway can also support India’s Regional Connectivity Scheme, otherwise known as the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS–UDAN), improving civil aviation connectivity to remote island territories. This dual-use approach—combining military readiness with civil development—reflects the Government of India’s broader philosophy of integrating security and development in strategically sensitive regions. Improved connectivity enhances accessibility for island communities, promotes economic activity, and strengthens administrative reach, while simultaneously reinforcing strategic infrastructure.
Alignment with India’s Broader Defence Vision
The Car Nicobar airfield upgrade fits squarely within India’s long-term vision for defence modernisation. It complements efforts to expand air and naval presence in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a region increasingly central to Indo-Pacific geopolitics. The initiative aligns with:
- The Act East policy of India that emphasises deepening strategic engagement with Southeast Asia
- The Indo-Pacific strategy focused on deterrence, stability, and freedom of navigation
- The broader goal of future-ready, resilient defence infrastructure
- It aligns with other significant initiatives, namely the proposed greenfield international airport at Great Nicobar, intended as a state-of-the-art, all-weather facility capable of handling wide-body aircraft such as the Airbus A380.
Historical Context: From World War II to the Present
The airfield at Car Nicobar has a rich history. It was first constructed in the 1940s by Japanese forces during World War II. After the war, the Royal Air Force used it primarily as a refuelling base for flights connecting Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, and Australia. After independence, the Indian Air Force established a staging post at Car Nicobar in 1956 to support aircraft transiting the Bay of Bengal. Rotary-wing operations commenced in 1982 with the induction of Mi-8 helicopters. Over time, the base evolved into a forward-based support unit, later upgraded to a full-fledged air force wing.
The 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean was the darkest period in this base’s history, destroying infrastructure, claiming hundreds of lives, and rendering the runway unusable due to flooding and subsidence. Subsequent restoration efforts and phased upgrades transformed Car Nicobar into a resilient and strategically vital military hub.
As geopolitical competition intensifies in the Indo-Pacific, the significance of Car Nicobar has grown steadily. It now serves as a key node within the ANC, supporting joint exercises, surveillance missions, and coordinated operations across services. With multiple airfields operational under the ANC and plans underway for more, India is steadily building a networked forward posture that enhances deterrence and rapid-response capability.
Conclusion
The inauguration of the upgraded Car Nicobar runway is more than an infrastructure upgrade; it is a strategic enabler. It strengthens India’s eastern air power, enhances maritime surveillance, boosts humanitarian response capability, and reinforces the Andaman and Nicobar Command’s role as a forward-operating hub. Above all, it reiterates the Government of India’s commitment to modernising dual-use defence infrastructure, securing sovereign maritime boundaries, and ensuring that security and development progress in parallel. In an era of increasing uncertainty and competition in the Indo-Pacific, Car Nicobar stands as a powerful beacon of India’s resolve, resilience, and readiness to defend its national interests while contributing to regional stability.
References: https://bharatshakti.in/cds-inaugurates-upgraded-runway-at-air-force-base-in-car-nicobar-island/
Carnicobar: India’s Strategic Middle Bastion in the Andaman & Nicobar Command | Arc Of Power. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCYtAl2Tfko
https://indianmasterminds.com/news/cds-gen-anil-chauhan-iaf-car-nicobar-air-base-173855
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