IAF fighter jets to land on Agra expressway on October 24. Here is why

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New Delhi: A number of aircraft will land on the Lucknow-Agra Expressway next week as part of an operational exercise conducted by the Indian Air Force (IAF), officials said on Wednesday.

According to the Defence Ministry officials, the drill will be carried out on October 24.

The event is conducted by the IAF in collaboration with the Uttar Pradesh Government.

An-32 transport aircraft, and IAF-invented leading fighter jets including Su-30, Jaguar and Mirage 2000 will join the drill.

On May 21, 2016, a Mirage-2000 fighter plane of the IAF had touched down on the Yamuna Expressway as a display of capability to land fighter jets on highways.

According to officials of the Road and Transport Ministry, 12 highways have been cleared for similar landing operations, with three of those connecting Maoist-affected areas in Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, which also witness vagaries of nature like floods and cyclones almost every year.

These strips would be used in case of emergencies such as disaster relief, humanitarian assistance, as well as in situations of war or conflict.

The efforts that go in preparing a strip of a highway for landing of a military aircraft includes thickening the layer of tar, and at the time of operation, a make-shift air traffic control, safety services, rescue vehicles and bird clearance parties have also to be there.

In 2016, Minister of Road, Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari had announced the project and the formation of a committee to come up with specifications for highway stretches that can double up as airstrips.

The committee will look into details like feasibility of the stretches, and their length and breadth, among other factors.

(With IANS inputs)