IAF’s transport aircraft logs a new record with drop zone at 13,700 feet above sea level

The Indian Air Force’s heavy lift transport aircraft IL-76 was used for the first time to paradrop in the high altitude Nyoma area near Leh creating a new record in military aviation.

The drop zone at Nyoma was located at 13,700 feet above sea level and paradrop at such an elevation is risky for both the troops and the flight crew.

It was the first ever static paradrop – in which the parachute is opened automatically after the jump – from the heavy lift transporter at this altitude.

A high altitude drop zone makes the task all the more difficult. For the air crew, it requires special skills to execute the insertion operations.

The IL-76 from which 20 para troopers jumped recently at Nyoma dropping zone on August 29 belonged to the Chandigarh-based number 44 squadron, also known as the Mighty Jets.

The IAF has increased its flying activities in far flung areas of Leh and Ladakh as it has prepared advanced landing grounds, or temporary airfields at Daulat Baig Oldie, Nyoma and Fukche where light transport aircraft An-32s – a turbo prop – have been operating for the last three to four years.

The IAF sources said it took a year to carry out the feasibility study before the IL-76 was allowed to venture into the risky territory.

While the aircraft was flown by commanding officer of Mighty Jets group Captain V.R. Vishwanathan, the 20-member paratroop group was led by chief instructor of ParaTroopers School Wing Commander S. Baig.

Western air command chief Air Marshal Arup Raha described the mission as a proud moment for the IAF and termed it as a challenging accomplishment.

Source:DailyMail

Paradrop training along LAC

India is quietly practising airdrops of paratroopers in high-altitude areas near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to bolster operational readiness. The combat drills are a part of the overall plan to strategically counter China's massive build-up of military infrastructure all along the unresolved border. 

A major milestone in the ongoing endeavour was achieved just before Chinese defence minister General Liang Guanglie's visit to India last week when the first-ever "static line paradrop" from a heavy-lift Ilyushin-76 aircraft was conducted at Nyoma on August 29, sources said. 

The advanced landing ground (ALG) at Nyoma in eastern Ladakh, located just 23 km from the LAC at an altitude of over 13,300 feet, was re-activated when a medium-lift Antonov-32 transport aircraft landed there in September 2009. 

Since then, there have been other AN-32 landings at the airstrip as well as joint IAF-Army airdrops in the area. "But August 29 was the first time when the 'static line paradrop' (when parachutes, linked to the plane with cords, open on exit in classic airborne infantry mode) was successfully conducted by an IL-76," said a source. 

The airdrop, with a mix of 20 Army and IAF paratroopers jumping from a record altitude of over 15,000 feet, was conducted by the 'Mighty Jets' IL-76 squadron after months of planning at the Chandigarh airbase and the Delhi-based Western Air Command. 

"Though Nyoma's location is of immense strategic significance, the hazards of treacherous terrain and weather had to be kept in mind. An IL-76 can carry over 120 combat-ready paratroopers, which is three times more than an AN-32," the source said. 

IAF has also already chalked out a detailed Rs 3,500 crore project, though it is yet to recieve the finance ministry's nod, to upgrade the Nyoma ALG into a "full-fledged airbase" with a 12,000 feet runway capable of handling all kinds of aircraft to ensure "both defensive and offensive options" in the sector. 

Source:TOI