Indian Air Force to land 20 fighter jets, commandos on Agra-Lucknow Expressway today

NEW DELHI: In a major exercise, as many as 20 aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) will land on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway today. 

The drill - conducted by the IAF in collaboration with the Uttar Pradesh government - will see participation from a C130 with Garud commandos for assault landing as well as three Jaguars, six Mirages (in two batches of three each), six SU 30s (in two batches of three each) in touch down and take off operation.

In preparation for the mammoth exercise, the stretch near Bangarmau in Unnao district, around 65 km from Uttar Pradesh's capital was closed for vehicular movement on Monday.

According to Defence (Central Command) PRO, Gargi Malik Sinha, this will be the first time that a transport aircraft will "land and then take off".

The AN-32 aircraft are for humanitarian assistance and relief operations during floods or any other natural calamity.

"The aircraft can bring a large amount of relief material. It can also help evacuate people," Sinha said.

On the other hand, the Vice Chief of Indian Air Force Air Marshal SB Deo termed the landing exercise as an "important operational achievement".

"It's a very important operational achievement, we have done it earlier where we have the Mirages land on this highway, and highways can be very important during wartime when the runway is denied for some reason," he said.

"I am very happy that the government has taken this very serious step, every new highway that has been made has provision, wherever straight leg permits, it will be made capable of handling fighter aircraft," Deo added.

Following are some of the highlights of the drill that will take place: 

- A C-130 transport aircraft with Special Forces commandos and front-line fighters from IAF`s inventory will be a part of an exercise to use highways as landing strips.

- According to the Defence Ministry, the exercise will commence with a short landing by the C-130, which will drop Garud Commandos and their vehicle.

- Immediately on disembarking from the C-130, the Commandos will take up position on either side of the airstrip to cordon it off for the fighter operations.

- This will be followed by three Jaguar Deep penetration strike aircraft, two formations of three aircraft each of Mirages and two formations of three aircraft each of Sukhoi-30.

- All 15 fighter aircraft will carry out a touch and go manoeuvre on the expressway. The C-130 will then return for another short landing to extricate the Garud Commandos.

On May 21, 2016, a Mirage-2000 fighter plane of the IAF had touched down on the Yamuna Expressway as a display of capability to land fighter jets on highways.

According to officials of the Road and Transport Ministry, 12 highways have been cleared for being used as an airstrip for emergencies such as disaster relief, humanitarian assistance, as well as in situations of war or conflict.

(With inputs from agencies)