Twenty aircraft, including two AN-32 transport and fighter planes such as Mirage 2000, Jaguar, Sukhoi 30 MKI took part in the exercise, PRO had said earlier. (Representational image)
In big show of power, as many as 20 Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft made a touchdown on the Lucknow-Agra Expressway. The aircraft included AN-32 transport, Mirage 2000 and Sukhoi 30 MKI. As per defence PRO, it is for the for the first time that any transport aircraft “landed and then took off” on a highway. The aircraft touchdown exercise was conducted on the Lucknow-Agra Expressway near Bangarmau in the neighbouring Unnao district. The AN-32 aircrafts are meant for humanitarian assistance and relief operations during floods or any other natural calamity. “The aircraft can bring a large amount of relief material. It can also help evacuate people,” Defence PRO had said.
As per an India Today report, in was the first time when heavy-duty C 130 Hercules, the 35,000-kg transport aircraft, made an assault landing on the higway with Garud commandos.
Watch: 20 IAF aircrafts, including Lockheed C-130 Hercules, touch down Lucknow-Agra Expressway
IAF to land frontline fighters on Lucknow-Agra Expressway as part of an exercise to use highways as landing strips pic.twitter.com/atjMhOMtU7
— Vibin Raj ???????? (@Vibin8465) October 24, 2017
As planned, the commandos were scheduled to be extricated from the same spot where the C130 made a landing. In addition to showcasing its operational capability, the IAF also put on display its prowess in the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR). The HADR is a methodology used by the AIR Force in case of any natural disaster or event that will enable the pilots to touch down to provide relief and assistance.
