New Delhi: India’s Air Force on Thursday landed a fighter jet on a highway near New Delhi in the first of the country’s emergency landing drills on national highways.
Villagers milled around the Yamuna Expressway in the Delhi suburbs to watch the Mirage 2000 landing not far from their homes.
“The aircraft made a practice approach on the highway, coming down to a height of 100 metres before landing on the next approach,” the IAF said.
IAF spokesman Wing Commander S.S. Virdi said there was always an element of risk in such drills but thorough safety checks were conducted, including on the surface quality of the expressway, built in 2012 and one of the country’s more modern highways.
Landing fighters on roads is a common manoeuvre in many countries, for a scenario when airbases come under attack and might be unusable.
But few Indian roads are suitable for the drill. Virdi said the IAF will identify and designate more highways as potential landing strips.
The Mirage-2000 is a single seater air defence and multi-role fighter of French origin powered by a single engine that can attain maximum speed of 2,495km/hr (Mach 2.3). It carries two 30mm integral cannons and two matra super 530D medium-range and two R-550 magic II close combat missiles.
“The aircraft made practice approach on the highway, coming down to a height of 100 meters, before landing,” the officer said.
“The IAF has plans to activate more such stretches on the highways in the future.”
The fighter plane skimmed the highway and landed briefly before it took off again on the stretch of Yamuna Expressway near Mathura.
The 165-km long Yamuna Expressway connects Delhi from tourist destinations of Mathura and Agra.
IAF helicopters undertook several observation sorites before the jet landed.
The officer added the exercise was done in coordination with district administration of Agra and Mathura, and all necessary security preparations were in place.
“All facilities like makeshift air traffic control, safety services, rescue vehicles, bird clearance parties and other requirements were put in place by IAF personnel from the Air Force Station Agra.
“Thereafter, in coordination with the district magistrates and SPs [superintendents of police] of Mathura and Agra, necessary tie-ups were effected for activating the selected stretch,” the officer said.
The entire operation was carried out with active support from the Uttar Pradesh government, Yamuna Expressway Authority, toll authorities of JP Infratech and the police.
