The Indian Air Force conducted a tactical trial of the emergency landing facility specially constructed on a highway in Andhra Pradesh on Thursday. Confirming the development, the Southern Air Command of the Indian Air Force posted key details via its official Twitter handle. The emergency landing facility or ELF has been made on the National Highway 16 located in Andhra Pradesh’s Bapatla district, the Southern Air Command said in the tweet.

Two Sukhois, Tejas light combat fighters and AN-32 transport plane were part of the trial run, the defence officials said. These combat jets flew very close to the ground without an actual landing on the 4.1 km-long emergency facility.

The drill was part of the stringent process that would help the officials to ascertain the readiness of the emergency facility. Constructed in Bapatla’s Picchikalagudipadu village, the drill saw the fighter jets circuiting, approaching and overshooting the ELF.

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At present, the emergency facility is not fully functional. Once all the criterias are met, the airstrip will be formally inaugurated, the officials said.

The need for an emergency landing facility

The ELFs are part of the Indian Air Force’s key defence strategy. Several such airstrips are being developed across India to boost up the IAF’s emergency response. In case of any emergency, traffic on the highways would be blocked so that the airstrips can be used exclusively for the combat jet’s landing.

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Current status of Bapatla emergency landing facility

IAF officials say that some work related to fencing of the road on either side of the airstrip is still pending. The IAF is also coordinating with the National Highway Authority of India for the upkeep of the airstrip. The Suryalanka Air Force Station is the nearest air base from this Andhra airstrip. So, in case of any emergency, this air base would activate this emergency landing facility and coordinate with other civil authorities in the area. For Thursday’s drill, as many as 200 police personnel were deployed near the highway. Traffic in the area was blocked since morning for the trial run.