Shahjahanpur: The Indian Air Force’s prowess is on display once again on Friday as fighter jets such as Rafale, MiG-29, Mirage 2000 among other jets practiced landing and take off at India’s first-ever night landing strip built on the Ganga Expressway in Uttar Pradesh’s Shahjahapur.
The 3.5-kilometer-long airstrip is capable of both day and nighttime landings of Air Force jets, allowing round-the-clock military operations and to assess the expressway’s viability as an alternative runway during emergencies.
With this, UP will have a total of four landing strips on expressways but this one will be the first to have night time landing facility.
The takeoff and landing drill comes at a crucial time when India-Pakistan are at an all time high in the wake of the Pahalgam attack on April 22 when Pakistan-sponsored terrorists shot dead 26 innocent people in cold blood.
This modern airstrip is the first in India to be constructed on an expressway with provisions for round-the-clock military operations. To ensure security, 250 CCTV cameras will be installed along both sides of the runway.
The Uttar Pradesh government also plans to develop an industrial hub along the expressway near the airstrip, which is expected to generate new employment opportunities for thousands of youth.
