IAF lands mighty C-17 globemaster close to China border

Sakshi Chaturvedi
Published on: 4 Nov 2016 4:33 AM GMT
IAF lands mighty C-17 globemaster close to China border
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Guwahati: Indian Air Force successfully carried out the trial landing of C-17 Globemaster aircraft on late night of Thursday, just 29 kilometers from Sino-Indian Border,at the advanced landing ground in Mechuka in West Siang District of Arunachal Pradesh. Mechuka is very close to the China Border.

According to the official statement released by IAF, "This operation demonstrated the IAF capability to reach out to this remote ALG (Advanced Landing Ground) located just 29 km from the Sino-Indian border."

The aircraft was received by Detachment Commander Flight Lieutenant S Dixit. Group Caption TR Ravi, Wing Commander P Sisodia, Wing Commander AK Commander, MWO Tripathi and WO Nirana Ram were the air crew who became the part of this historic landing.

The release also stated that,"IAF has plans to validate airlift operations to and from various ALGs in the region that would usher in a new dimension in enhanced disaster response. This trial landing is expected to pave the way for operation of civil flights operating to and from the newly upgraded ALGs, which has an enormous potential to boost tourism by improving connectivity to remote locations in the North East."

It may be mentioned that, Mechuka was one of the several strategic location who had their importance during the Indo-China war in 1962. The ALG at Mechuka had been upgraded recently. The connectivity to the nearest air or rail head at Debrugarh by road is generally two days of travel unless the path gets damage due to frequent landslides.

Sakshi Chaturvedi

Sakshi Chaturvedi

A journalist, presently working as a Sub-Editor at newstrack.com.

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