IAF completes emergency field landing drill in Barmer

In a historic event in Rajasthan on Thursday, an IAF transport aircraft carrying Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria, completed an 'emergency field landing' - part of a readiness drill by the armed forces - on a national highway in Barmer. The 'field landing' of the C-130J Super Hercules, to be followed by fighter aircraft like Jaguars and Sukhoi Su-30 MKIs landing and taking off, is to test the quality of road infrastructure as emergency airstrips in the event of rescue or times when airbases - the enemy's first targets in a war - may not be available and highways have to be used as landing strips.

Shortly after the Super Hercules touched down, a Sukhoi fighter jet also landed. The airstrip on a three-kilometre stretch of NH-925A in Barmer is the first on a national highway. A total of 12 highways in different states, including the Agra-Lucknow expressway, have been identified as potential emergency landing airstrips. The government has said the Emergency Landing Facilities(ELF) will normally be used for smooth flow of vehicular traffic. But, during operations for Indian Air Force, the service road will be used for road traffic. It the ELF will be able to handle all types of IAF aircraft. In addition, three helipads have been constructed in Kundanpura, Singhania and Bakhasar villages; all three have been built in consultation with the Air Force and Army and will help strengthen armed forces' security network and operational readiness on the country's western border.