IAF Planes Carry Out Emergency Landing Drill on Lucknow-Agra Expressway

NEW DELHI:
As part of an emergency landing drill, sixteen aircraft of the Indian Air Force on Tuesday took part in a touch-and-go exercise at an airstrip on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway.
IAF’s C-130 ‘Super Hercules’, a Rs 900-crore transport carrier, was the first to arrive on the expressway. While the aircraft was still in motion, Garud commandos disembarked from the C-130 to secure the landing strip. The crew later deployed a ramp to roll-out a camouflaged Gypsy. The IAF’s Jaguars, Mirage 2000s and Sukhoi 30s were also part of the exercise but did not land on the airstrip.
The drill was held to prepare the IAF to deal with emergencies, during which airforce bases are often rendered inaccessible.
The Expressway is closed for commuters until 2 pm today. In order to ensure smooth conduct of the drill, authorities imposed traffic restrictions on the Expressway for the general public on Monday and Tuesday.