The Indian Air Force conducted a major exercise on a 3.5-kilometer airstrip on the Ganga Expressway in Uttar Pradesh’s Shahjahanpur district yesterday, showcasing a spectacular display of its operational capacity.
The event, a first of its kind, featured advanced fighter jets like the Rafale, Jaguar, Mirage 2000, SU-30 MKI, and MiG-29, alongside transport aircraft such as the C-130J Super Hercules and AN-32, as well as the versatile MI-17 V5 helicopter.
The exercise took place in two phases, daytime and nighttime, aimed at testing the expressway’s airstrip as a viable runway for emergency operations during conflicts or natural disasters.
Uttar Pradesh Minister Danish Azad Ansari stated that Uttar Pradesh is the first state in the country to hold a night landing facility for fighter jets on an expressway.
The airstrip is part of the around 594-kilometre-long Ganga Expressway connecting Meerut to Prayagraj. With 85 per cent of the expressway construction already completed, this airstrip is the fourth operational stretch on a UP Expressway designed for Indian Air Force operations. The other three facilities are there on the Agra-Lucknow, Purvanchal, and Bundelkhand Expressways.
However, the one on Ganga Expressway is the first among them to support night operations.
The IAF conduct fighter jet exercises at the Shahjahanpur airstrip in two phases. The drills featured aircraft like the Rafale, Sukhoi-30 MKI, Mirage-2000, MiG-29, Jaguar, C-130J Super Hercules, AN-32 transport aircraft, and MI-17 V5 helicopters.