New Delhi: Marking a major milestone in regional defence infrastructure, a highway in the North-East has been transformed into an emergency runway, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled to land at the newly developed airstrip on February 14.
In this connection, and strengthening strategic infrastructure in the North-East, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is set to operationalise a new emergency landing facility on a four-lane highway in Moran in Assam’s Dibrugarh district on Saturday, officials said on Thursday.
The 4.2 km stretch of the National Highway has been developed as the emergency landing facility and is situated close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC), giving the IAF strategic leverage and flexibility to augment its operations in times of any exigency.
The runway will be inaugurated on Saturday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally opening the first emergency landing facility in the North-East, for the landing of IAF jets, including Rafales and Sukhois.
According to officials privy to information, the Prime Minister will himself land on this emergency airstrip on Saturday in an Air Force C-130J Super Hercules.
On Thursday, the IAF fighter jets also conducted a trial landing at the highway airstrip, which saw a range of fighter jets landing on NH-2.
An Air Force Dornier aircraft, Sukhoi, and Rafale took off from the airstrip.
Three Sukhois first flew past the stage, then touched the runway one by one.
Three Rafales then performed a similar formation drill.
IAF’s transport aircraft AN-32 also performed a touch-and-go drill.
Notably, the Air Force has been intensifying its combat preparedness and augmenting its capability in light of the possibility of a two-front war.
The construction of emergency landing facilities on highways in various parts of the country has been accelerated in this regard.
The Emergency Landing Facilities, or landing strips, are being developed across the length and breadth of the country.
As of now, 28 such emergency landing facilities have been prepared. They include five in Assam, four in West Bengal, three each in Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat, two each in Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, and Haryana, and one each in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.
These emergency landing facilities are being built on national highways. Many of these 28 Emergency Landing Facilities have been completed and officially inaugurated. Along with national highways, state governments are also constructing them on state highways.
On November 16, a momentous occasion occurred as Prime Minister Narendra Modi threw open the airstrip on Purvanchal Expressway by landing on it.
During the inauguration of the airstrip built on the Purvanchal Expressway in Uttar Pradesh, PM Modi personally landed there in a C-130J Super Hercules.
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Photo: IANS
–IANS
