Close to China border, India turns highway into runway for Rafales, Globemasters

Hardly a few hundred kilometres from the Line of Actual Control (LAC), India is set to operationalise its first highway airstrip in its Northeastern part. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to land on the 4.2 kilometre Emergency Landing Facility (ELF) stretch of a National Highway in Dibrugarh district of Assam on Saturday, February 14, marking its opening.

Around 16 Indian Air Force aircraft, including Rafales and Sukhois, will take part in a mega airshow. Several fighter jets are expected to land on the highway runway. The ELF stretch, part of the Dibrugarh-Moran National Highway, is in Upper Assam, not far from India's eastern frontier with China.

Officials say it boosts national security and disaster preparedness. Geo intelligence expert Damien Symon on X said, "This airstrip enhances dispersed and survivable air power in crisis scenarios."

Days before its inauguration, videos circulating on social media showed IAF Rafale fighter jets and a C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft carrying out landings and touch-and-go operations on the highway strip.

Most of India's ELFs are situated in western, northern and central parts of the country. This is the first ELF in northeast India and close to the Chabua Air Force Station (AFS).

HIGHWAY TURNED INTO RUNWAY IN UPPER ASSAM, FIRST IN NORTHEAST

Unlocking another strategic potential, India has converted a portion of the Dibrugarh-Moran National Highway into an Emergency Landing Facility for the Indian Air Force.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will land on the newly developed strip on Saturday, reported news agency PTI. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "The PM will be flying from New Delhi to Chabua Air Force base on Saturday morning. From there, he will take a flight and land at the Moran ELF in the district".

The 4.2-km stretch between Moran and Demow has been developed in coordination with the IAF.

These strips of highways allow fighter jets and heavy aircraft to land during emergencies or wartime contingencies. Such ELFs are designed to serve as alternate runways if airbases are targeted or rendered unusable. The Indian Air Force and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways have identified a total of 28 to 29 Emergency Landing Facilities (ELFs) to be developed across India. Approximately 15 facilities are reported as ready or active across various states.

Some of India's Emergency Landing Facilities are on the Taj Expressway, the Ganga Expressway, the NH-925A in Barmer (Rajasthan) and the Purvanchal Expressway (Uttar Pradesh).

This facility in Assam, the first in the Northeast, assumes added significance given its proximity to the Line of Actual Control with China. India has, in recent years, stepped up border infrastructure in the Northeast following tensions in eastern Ladakh.

Minister of Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia on X said that the blending of a highway and a runway reveal India's "strategic resolve".

"The Dibrugarh-Moran stretch of the National Highway in Assam can transform from a seamless road into an Emergency Landing Facility for India's frontline jets and transport," he wrote.

RAFALES, SUKHOIS, LIFTERS TO TAKE PART IN OPENING OF NORTHEAST'S FIRST HIGHWAY AIRSTRIP

To mark the opening, the Indian Air Force will stage a large-scale airshow. Around 16 aircraft will either land on the strip or conduct fly-pasts within 30 minutes.

"Rafael, Sukhoi and other IAF aircraft will take part in the airshow, and many of the fighter jets will also land at the strip. This will be the first such elaborate exercise on an ELF," Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

While the Sarma mentioned Rafales and Sukhois, such ELFs are also built to handle heavy transport aircraft like the C-17 Globemaster and C-130J Super Hercules. These platforms are crucial for rapid troop deployment and logistics in border areas.

India has earlier operationalised similar highway landing strips in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. But this is the first such facility in the Northeast, a region that is strategically sensitive due to proximity with China, Bangladesh and Myanmar, and logistically challenging due to the terrain.

After landing at the ELF and witnessing the airshow, PM Modi will fly to Guwahati. There, he will inaugurate a new bridge over the Brahmaputra River. The Prime Minister would also inaugurate the temporary campus of IIM Guwahati and an AI-enabled hyperscale data centre. This would be PM Modi's third visit to Assam in three months. Assembly elections in Assam are likely in March-April.

Among all the projects, the ELF in Dibrugarh, the first highway-runway in the northeast, is crucial and will give India a strategic boost.

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