For demonstration, 16 IAF aircraft land on Agra-Lucknow Expressway
IAF plans to use National Highways as landing strips' in case of emergencies.
New Delhi: Almost an entire range of Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft comprising three deep penetration Jaguars, 12 multi-role air superiority Mirage 2000s and Sukhoi-30 and a C-130J Super Hercules airlifter took part in a drill to touchdown and take off on a 3 km long stretch of the six-lane Agra-Lucknow Expressway on Tuesday underscoring skill and capability besides demonstration of military preparedness in times of war and other emergencies.
The drill is in line with the IAF’s stated policy of using National Highways stretches as ‘landing strips’ in an emergency as during wars as airstrips usually figure on the top of the enemy’s bombing targets so capability to land on road stretches assume critical value.
Many Western nations use their highways as alternate landing strips while India’s neighbours China and Pakistan have landed their fighter jets on their roads many years ago.
The entire exercise on the expressway commenced at around 10:15 am and continued till about 12:00 pm and took place near Bangarmau in Unnao District of UP. The Sukhoi-30, Mirage-2000 and Jaguar fighter aircraft took off respectively from Bareilly, Gwalior and Gorakhpur while the C-130J Super Hercules took off from Hindon airbase.
The C-130J inserted Garud Commandos along with their vehicle who took “positions” on either side of the expressway to secure “their airstrip” for the fighter aircraft.
This is the third time in three years that the IAF has undertaken such a drill. While a Mirage 2000 aircraft landed on the Yamuna Expressway on May 21, 2015, three Mirage 2000 touched down on the expressway last year.