Sixteen planes of the Indian Air Force are performing touch and go landings on a stretch of the Lucknow-Agra Expressway this morning. A 35,000 kg C-130J Super Hercules aircraft will come to a full stop on landing to deploy Garud Special Forces commandos to secure the landing zone as part of the special drill. Fighter jets including the top of the line Sukhoi 30s and Mirage 2000s won't, however, come to a full stop, but will instead take off after touching down on the airstrip. The three-hour long exercise simulates an emergency situation when airbases, the first target of bombs and missiles, won't be available for air operations, necessitating use of highways as landing strips.
