Why it is in news?

• The Indian Air Force put up a spectacular show on the Lucknow-Agra highway
• 16 of its frontline aircraft conducted elaborate landing drills on a designated airstrip built on the expressway.

About the exercise

• The landing and touchdown exercises were held on the 3-km airstrip built on the expressway near Bangarmau in Unnao, between Lucknow and Kanpur.
• The IAF's fighter class aircraft, Sukhoi-30, Mirage-2000 and Jaguar demonstrated with their speed and touchdown manouvres.
• The event also saw the debut of the advanced turbo-prop military transport vehicle, the C-130J Super Hercules, on the highway.
• The C-130J Super Hercules, which is of U.S. origin, is utilised for special operations and relief work during HADR (Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief) operations in times of humanitarian crisis.
• They supply relief material during calamities such as floods and earthquakes, while also being used for evacuation.

Alternative airstrip

• The exercise was aimed at checking feasibility of expressways being used as alternative airstrips in case of dire emergencies or non-availability of runway for any reason.
• IAF has been increasing its efforts to utilise certain straight stretches of National Highways for emergency landings.
• These operations increase the flexibility in the use of Air Power
• Such operations were done earlier in 2015 and 106.
• Several countries like Germany, Sweden, South Korea, Taiwan, Finland, Switzerland, Poland, Singapore, Czechoslovakia and Pakistan have dedicated stretches on their highways and expressways for aircraft to land and take off in emergencies or warlike events, the military said.
• This operation has majorly boosted IAF’s capability to undertake unhindered operations even during non-availability of standard runways.
• The IAF plans such excercises on highway stretches in other parts of India.

Lucknow-Agra expressway

•  At 302-km, the Lucknow-Agra Expressway is the longest six-lane highway in the country. It cuts short the distance between the state capital and Agra, while also reducing journey time to Delhi.