In a first-of-its-kind, the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) on Thursday landed its Sukhoi Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft at the national highway in Jalore. The aircraft carrying Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Roadways Minister Nitin Gadkari, and Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria, completed an ’emergency field landing’.
#WATCH | In a first, Jaguar aircraft carries out a touch and go landing at the emergency landing field on the national highway in Jalore, Rajasthan pic.twitter.com/e2FIPHUUa2
— ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2021
This is the first time that a national highway (NH-925) is used for the emergency landing of IAF aircraft. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has developed a 3-km section of the Satta-Gandhav stretch of NH-925A, as an emergency landing facility (ELF) for the IAF.
Shortly after the Super Hercules touched down, a Sukhoi fighter jet also landed. A total of 12 highways in different states, including the Agra-Lucknow expressway, have been identified as potential emergency landing airstrips.
A video of the landing shows the aircraft safely touching down on the road is going viral on social media.
