A grand air show replete with flypast and roller landings by Su-30 MKIs, Jaguars and Mirage 2000 fighter jets of the Indian Air Force (IAF) has been planned for Tuesday as part of the inauguration of the new Purvanchal Expressway connecting Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow to the state’s eastern district of Ghazipur.
As per government sources, the tentative plan is to have Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his entourage of around 35 people land in a C-130J super Hercules aircraft on the 3.2-km airstrip — located in Sultanpur district of UP atop the 341-km long expressway — after which he proceed for a public address nearby.
The air show will begin after the PM returns around an hour later. As part of the capability display, a Mirage 2000 will first land on the airstrip for Turn Round Servicing (TRS) — a standard process where the aircraft lands and is thereafter attended to by a team to make it ready for the next mission. The ground crew for the TRS will already be positioned.
Subsequently, the plan is to have an AN-32 transport aircraft land on this airstrip, from which troops of Army’s Para Special Forces and Garuds of the Indian Air Force will disembark and carry out a simulation of securing the emergency landing field. There are also plans that the AN 32 aircraft will carry an All-Terrain Vehicle. It will take off soon after the landing.
IN PICS | 340-km Purvanchal Expressway with Emergency Airstrip for IAF Fighter Jets
A flypast would be carried out by five fighter jets — one Mirage 2000, two Sukhoi 30 MKIs and two Jaguars. They will subsequently carry out roller landings, which is a training activity by fighter jets where the aircraft touches down and then engages their engines fully to take off again.
The first Mirage 2000 which landed for the TRS will take off and the air show will conclude with three Kiran Mk II aircraft escorted by two Su-30 MKIs streaming the Tricolour in the air.
Defence sources, however, said the plan is subjected to last-minute changes.
Previous Highway Landings
The planned air show is part of the event organised for the inauguration of the Purvanchal Expressway, a mega project that the Yogi Adityanath government plans to showcase as a major achievement ahead of Uttar Pradesh elections 2022.
In September this year, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Road, Transport & Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari had inaugurated a 3.5-km long emergency landing strip on National Highway-925 in Barmer district of Rajasthan. Fighter jets with the IAF can make emergency landings on this airstrip during war or other contingencies.
Prior to this, a C-130J aircraft had landed on the Lucknow-Agra expressway for the first time in October 2017 during an exercise, even as fighters like Mirages and Su 30 MKIs had displayed manoeuvres at this exercise and also in 2016 when the Lucknow-Agra expressway was inaugurated by then Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.
In 2015, the Yamuna Expressway was a test bed to check the feasibility of highways as emergency landing strips when a Mirage 2000 had landed on it.
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