PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday made a historic landing at the first Emergency Landing Facility (ELF) of the northeast aboard the C-130J aircraft in Assam’s Dibrugarh district. Modi took off from the Chabua airfield after his arrival, and landed at the ELF in Moran on a stretch of National Highway-37. In a post on X after the inauguration, the PM said “it is a matter of immense pride that the Northeast gets an Emergency Landing Facility”. “From a strategic point of view and during times of natural disasters, this facility is of great importance,” he said. The Rs 100-crore ELF, a 4.2-km reinforced stretch on the Moran Bypass, which was inaugurated by the PM, will act as a strategic and multi-functional runway for IAF fighter jets and transport aircraft, strengthening defence, logistics and disaster response, officials said. The facility is designed for both civil and military use, serving as an alternative to the Dibrugarh airport in case of emergency, they said. The PM was received at the ELF by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Air Chief Marshal A P Singh and other Ministers of the Assam Cabinet. After landing on the runway, Modi drove to the venue nearby from where he witnessed an aerial show featuring IAF’s fighter jets and transport helicopters, engaged for urgent security situations and disaster responses, at the Emergency Landing Facility (ELF) in Assam’s Dibrugarh district.

 

The 4.2-km ELF in Moran -the first-of-its-kind in the northeast region, was earlier in the day inaugurated by Modi, who arrived in Assam on a day-long visit. In the 20-minute aerial show, the IAF pilots displayed precision take-off and landing on the Moran Bypass, as locals lined up behind barricades to get a glimpse of the event. A Sukhoi-30 MKI was the first aircraft to take-off from the ELF, followed by a Rafale aircraft. Taking off with a short run-up, both jets are capable of being combat-ready within seconds of being in air. The An-32 helicopter, dubbed the ‘workhorse’ of the IAF and designed for both cargo and passengers, performed a ‘touch and go’. A three-jet formation of Sukhoi-30 MKI was the next to fly over the Moran sky, with the pilots displaying difficult manoeuvres, as two of the aircraft performed overshoot on the airstrip while the third landed at the ELF, marking the first touch down after formal inauguration. A similar manoeuvre was performed by a set of three Rafale jets, with two of the aircraft flying close to the airstrip, while the third making a landing. Special Heli-Borne Operations (SHBO) and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) by Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), crucial for surveillance, search and rescue, medical evacuation and food airdrops in inaccessible and remote areas, were performed by the indigenously-developed copters.

 

As part of SHBO, a pair of ALH touched down at the ELF and commandos alighted from the choppers and took positions, in a show of operational preparedness of the IAF. As the two ALHs made a quick take-off after dropping the personnel, two other helicopters displayed the HADR operation by demonstrating medical evacuation, bringing the aerial show to an end. The PM, accompanied by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Air Chief Marshal A P Singh, among others, witnessed the show from a special platform. Modi then flew to Guwahati for the next leg of his visit on the IAF’s C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, on board which he had landed on the ELF from the Chabua air base. Sarma had said earlier that it will be the first such ‘elaborate’ exercise at an ELF, with around 16 aircraft participating. The ELF, developed at a project cost of nearly Rs 100 crore, has been specially designed and constructed in coordination with the IAF to support landing and take-off of military and civil aircraft during emergencies, an official statement said.