IAF activates emergency-landing facility to demonstrate op readiness

IAF showcases combat readiness with fighter jets landing on UP highway, boosting operational flexibility and emergency response capability

The Indian Air Force (IAF) activated an emergency-landing facility on a highway in northern India on Wednesday in a bid to demonstrate its operational readiness. 

A fleet of fighter jets (Jaguar, Mirage-2000 and Sukhoi-30 MKI), the Mi-17 V5 helicopter and military transport aircraft (C-295 and AN-32), as well as the Garud commando team participated in the day-and-night exercise on Purvanchal Expressway in Sultanpur district, Uttar Pradesh. 

The event was held ahead of the one-year anniversary of Operation Sindoor (May 7), India’s military reprisal after a deadly terrorist attack in India on April 22 (last year), which the government said had links to Pakistan.   

 

IAF along with the local civilian administration validated the standard operating procedures for the emergency activation of such emergency-landing facilities, in the shortest possible time both by day and by night, an IAF media statement said. BS Reporter

  It boosts the IAF’s capability to undertake operations even when standard runways are unavailable, it added. 

 

“These strategically developed airstrips on national expressways substantially augment operational flexibility and serve as critical force multiplier during emergencies, reinforcing national security and disaster response capabilities.”