INS Jatayu

INS Jatayu is a naval station of the Indian Navy on Minicoy, the southernmost island of the Lakshadweep archipelago in the Arabian Sea. It functions under the Naval Officer-in-Charge (Lakshadweep) within the Southern Naval Command, and is the second Indian Navy base in Lakshadweep after INS Dweeprakshak at Kavaratti.

Minicoy lies separated from the remainder of Lakshadweep by the Nine Degree Channel and from the Maldives by the Eight Degree Channel, astride the sea lines of communication running through the central Arabian Sea. The station supports naval operations in the anti-piracy and anti-narcotics roles in the Arabian Sea, and its area of responsibility covers the surveillance of the adjacent channels. A Maritime Operations Centre at Minicoy was established alongside the base. The unit is commanded by Commander Sudhanshu Bhardwaj. The Indian Air Force is developing an airfield on the island in support of operations mounted from Minicoy.

A Naval Detachment Minicoy was raised in the early 1980s under the Naval Officer-in-Charge (Lakshadweep). The detachment was elevated to an independent naval unit and commissioned as INS Jatayu on 6 March 2024, with infrastructure and support resources added at that time. Commander Vrat Baghel was the first Commanding Officer.