The IAF's Sukhoi 30MKI fighter jets will also land on Lucknow-Agra Expressway in the special exercise
Twenty planes of the Indian Air Force will land on the Lucknow-Agra Expressway next week in an exercise that will help the IAF operate in a wide range of emergency situations, a defence spokesperson said. The aircraft that will practice the difficult landing on October 24 include AN-32 transport plane and Mirage 2000 and Sukhoi 30MKI fighter jets.
Starting today, no vehicles will be allowed to run on the stretch of the expressway which will be used as a landing strip.
The IAF aircraft will land on the stretch of the expressway near Bangarmau in Unnao district, some 65 kilometres from Uttar Pradesh's capital Lucknow, Gargi Malik Sinha, Public Relations Officer of Defence, Central Command told news agency PTI.
"It is for the first time any transport aircraft will land and then take off (from a road). The AN-32s are meant for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief during floods or any other natural calamity," Ms Sinha said. "The aircraft can bring a large amount of relief material. It can also help in evacuating people."
Several countries allow their air force to practice landing on and taking off from large highways in order to
ensure air operations continue even when an airbase has been knocked out by enemy forces or natural disaster. Switzerland has several such highways that can be used as landing strips by its air force.
In May 2015, a Mirage 2000 fighter jet of the IAF
test-landed on the Yamuna Expressway near Delhi as part of a drill for emergency landings on national highways. Another six IAF fighter jets -- Sukhoi 30MKIs and Mirage 2000s -- performed simulated landings in November 2016 when the Agra-Lucknow Expressway was inaugurated.
(With inputs from PTI)