WATCH | IAF Aircraft Creates Milestone With Successful Night Landing At Kargil Airstrip

In a major announcement by the Indian Air Force on Sunday, the IAF C-130 J Super Hercules transport aircraft accomplished a huge milestone as it executed a night landing at the Kargil airstrip near the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan.

The mission displayed the Air Force’s capabilities in challenging environments and was characterised by a terrain masking enroute.

The Indian Air Force took to X and revealed that the night landing at the Kargil airstrip employed terrain masking techniques.

In the post, the IAF said, “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 with a training mission for the Garuds.”

The IAF also stated that the exercise helped in a training mission for the Garuds.

While IAF aircraft have operated from the advanced landing ground before, it was the first time that a transport plane made a night landing.

The Kargil airstrip is located at an altitude of around 10,500 feet.

The defence ministry has also been focusing on enhancing infrastructure at almost all airfields along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), including the Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) as per operational requirements.

It is especially boosting infrastructure at the Daulat Beg Oldi Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) as well as the Nyoma airstrip.

The Daulat Beg Oldi ALG is located close to the LAC at an altitude of 16,700 feet and is known as the highest airfield in the world, with temperatures dropping up to minus 40 degrees Celsius during harsh winter months. The Nyoma airfield, on the other hand, is located at a height of around 13,000 feet.

(with agency inputs)