Government has this week sanctioned three new Naval Air Squadrons to be set up in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. Defence Ministry said in a release that besides this, the Central Government has also sanctioned manpower towards manning additional aircraft in existing Dornier Surveillance Squadrons in Kerala and Andaman Islands. <br />''  <br />'' The contract for procurement of 12 Dornier aircraft was signed with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in 2016 with delivery commencing in January this year. This is a substantial contract for the indigenous HAL built Maritime Surveillance version of the Dornier 228 aircraft.<br />''            <br />'' The new Dornier 228 aircraft being delivered under this contract are fitted with improved 'state of the art' sensors and equipment which includes glass cockpit, Advanced Surveillance Radar, Optical sensors and networking features. <br />''  <br />'' The aircraft would enhance Maritime Domain Awareness of Indian Navy through round the clock sensor based surveillance and provide targeting data in areas of operation to ward off terror and other threats from sea.<br />