An important turning point in the nation’s defense readiness was reached on Friday when the IAF began its much-awaited “land and go” exercise on the 3.5-kilometer section of the Ganga Expressway in the Shahjahanpur region of Uttar Pradesh. This highway segment is unusual in that it is the only airfield of its kind in the nation to allow fighter aircraft landings both during the day and at night.
Similar emergency landing exercises have only been conducted during the day on the Purvanchal and Lucknow-Agra motorways up to this point. Locals and pupils from different schools were among those who gathered along the motorway to see the breathtaking aerial displays. Rafale, SU-30 MKI, Mirage-2000, MiG-29, Jaguar, C-130J Super Hercules, AN-32, and the MI-17 V5 helicopter were among the IAF aircraft used in the testing. Low fly-pasts, landings, and takeoffs in both daytime and nighttime settings were tried during the drills. The success of the exercise, according to Uttar Pradesh government officials, would also show that the highway can serve as a backup runway in an emergency, increasing the operational flexibility of the Indian Air Force (IAF).
Prominent state and defense officials were also in attendance to supervise the activities. When the Ganga Expressway is finished, it will be the first to permit night landings and the fourth expressway in Uttar Pradesh to have an emergency airstrip, opening the door for 24/7 operational readiness. Throughout the day, more than half a dozen fighter aircraft performed flyover and landing drills under strict security. At night, the fighter planes also practiced landings and flyovers. Advanced combat aircraft, such as the C-130J Super Hercules, Jaguar, Sukhoi, MiG-29, and Rafale, conducted testing flights at the airfield near Piru village in the Jalalabad area, Superintendent of Police Rajesh Dwivedi told PTI.
The fighter planes conducted the nighttime drills as the local cops stayed vigilant. According to the SP, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited the 3.5-kilometer airstrip last Sunday. According to the officer, 250 CCTV cameras have been placed along the length to provide real-time surveillance and prompt police reaction in the event of an issue. Dwivedi said that local police teams and staff from the animal husbandry and panchayati raj agencies helped secure around 40 kilometers of the surrounding regions.
They were positioned along the motorway to keep animals from wandering into the prohibited areas or into the road. The Bareilly-Etawah road from Jalalabad to Madanpur was blocked during the planned nighttime maneuvers, which took place from 7 to 10 p.m. It was suggested that travelers choose other routes. Anil Gupta, the district general secretary for the BJP, said that the new airstrip’s close proximity to the Pakistani border gives it a strategic edge. “Fighter planes may take off from this motorway in the case of an assault. For Shahjahanpur district, this is a historic turning point,” he said.
PTI was informed by Pooja Yadav, the principal of Gurukul Bird School, that she took her pupils to see the fighter planes in operation. Our pupils were also given information about the airplane, but it was their first trip,” she added. Kritika, a student in Class 10, expressed her enthusiasm by saying, “It was a unique experience.” For the first time, I saw fighter aircraft like the Jaguar and Rafale. It was exciting to see them soar. The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet gave its approval in September 2021 for the Ganga Expressway between Prayagraj and Meerut to be built. When the expressway project was approved, the anticipated total cost of the civil and construction work was Rs 36,230 crore. The public-private partnership initiative is not proceeding as planned.
