IAF conducts night drill with fighter jets on Ganga Expressway airstrip in UP's Shahjahanpur

Shahjahanpur (UP): The Indian Air Force (IAF) successfully conducted night-time combat drills involving fighter jets on the country's first expressway airstrip on the Ganga Expressway in Shahjahanpur district, officials said Saturday.

The drill, which took place between 7 pm and 10 pm on Friday, saw fighter jets Rafale, Sukhoi, Jaguar, and Mirage-2000 simulate touch-and-go landings and combat operations on the 3.5-kilometre airstrip near Piru village under the Jalalabad Police Station limits.

Superintendent of Police Rajesh Dwivedi told PTI, "Multiple fighter jets carried out successful sorties as part of a night operational exercise. The drill involved precision landings, coordinated take-offs, and tactical operations by jets such as Rafale, Sukhoi, Jaguar, Mirage-2000, and M-32." More than 250 CCTV cameras were mounted on and around the airstrip for surveillance and security. "This ensures safe operations and quick response in case of any untoward incidents," he said.

Traffic was halted for nearly three hours on the Bareilly-Etawah route that intersects the expressway while the sorties took place.

Dwivedi said that during the exercise, some fighter jets were seen landing with the help of ropes dropped from helicopters, followed by ground tactical deployment.

"Despite strong winds and unfavourable weather during the day, the drill was completed successfully, with the night operations proving to be smoother and more efficient," he added.

The drill was originally scheduled for two days, but IAF officials completed the entire exercise in one night.

"The programme scheduled for the next day was cancelled as the objective was already achieved," the SP said.

Additional District Magistrate (Finance and Revenue) Arvind Kumar said, "Fighter jets made contact with the airstrip near the VIP camp and then took off again. Over 1,000 sanitation workers and other personnel from the Panchayati Raj Department were deployed along a 40-kilometre stretch to ensure no animals or obstructions entered the airstrip." Locals watched the exercises with enthusiasm from fields nearby, he said.

"It was a historic moment for the district," Kumar said. The airstrip on the Ganga Expressway, recently inspected by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, is now capable of supporting fighter jet landings and operations both day and night, officials confirmed.

The state cabinet had in September 2021 approved the construction of the 594-km Ganga Expressway between Meerut and Prayagraj.

The estimated cost of civil and construction work on the expressway was Rs 36,230 crore at the time of the approval. The project, being made in a public-private partnership model, is running behind schedule.