In a first, an Indian Air Force (IAF) C-130 Super Hercules tactical transport aircraft made a night landing at the Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) in Kargil close to the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan along with a team of Garud special forces.
“In a first, an IAF C-130 J aircraft recently carried out a night landing at the Kargil airstrip. Employing terrain masking enroute, the exercise also dovetailed a training mission of the Garuds,” the IAF said in a post on social media platform ‘X’.
Earlier, transport aircraft have been landing here during the day and this was the first night landing, one official said. Explaining the significance, the official said the ALG is located at an altitude of around 10,000 feet and is a restricted airstrip with unidirectional approach surrounded by rough terrain. It also does not have night landing facilities. This demonstrates the capability to carry out specialised missions round the clock in this area, an official said.
The Kargil ALG is also significant because this is the only airstrip in this area becoming critical for any exigency. In Jammu and Kashmir, the IAF has full-fledged airfields at Srinagar, Awantipora, Udhampur and Jammu. In Ladakh, the IAF has airfields at Leh and Thoise and ALGs at Nyoma, Fukche and Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO).
In the last decade, the Defence Ministry has reactivated a series of ALGs close to the border, especially along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.
Upgrading ALGs
For instance, following approval from the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in June 2009, the IAF took up a project to upgrade eight ALGs in Arunachal Pradesh at an estimated cost of ₹1,000 crore which have since been operationalsied. The eight ALGs in Arunachal Pradesh include Tuting, Mechuka, Along, Tawang, Ziro, Pasighat, Walong and Vijaynagar. In addition, several new emergency landing strips were developed on national highways across the country.
Further, the ALG Nyoma, located at an altitude of about 13,700 feet and close to the South Bank of Pangong Tso is very close to the LAC in eastern Ladakh, is now being converted into a full runway of over 9,000 feet, making it capable of handling fighter jets. Work which commenced last August is expected to be ready by 2025.
The ALG at Daulat Beg Oldi at an altitude of 16,700 feet, located very close to the LAC, is very critical for aerial connectivity to the Sub-Sector North.
