The Indian Air Force (IAF) successfully landed a Mirage-2000 on the Yamuna Expressway near Mathura on Thursday as part of its trials to use national highways for emergency landing by fighter aircraft.
"The aircraft made a practice approach on the highway, coming down to a height of 100 meters before landing off the next approach. The operations were conducted with active support from the government of Uttar Pradesh, Yamuna Expressway Authority, toll authorities of JP Infratech and the civil police," the IAF said in a statement.
"The IAF has plans to activate more such stretches on highways in the future," it added.
The statement said the Mirage-2000 got airborne from one of the IAF bases in central India. It landed on the highway at about 6:40am.
The exercise was done in coordination with the district magistrates and superintendents of Agra and Mathura and necessary tie up was carried out for activation of the selected stretch, the statement said.
Hindustan Times had reported earlier this month that the IAF was in talks to convert the nearly 3 km stretch into a road runway.
The IAF had recently presented the proposal to the state government after ascertaining details of the Agra-Lucknow expressway, the longest greenfield expressway in the country. The IAF will also bear the cost of the project.
Sources said for a segment to be used as a road runway, it will have to be straight, level and located on a non-undulating ground without any slope.
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