An Indian Express team begins a trek to Siachen and keeps you posted, every day.
With incidents of transgressions on the unresolved Sino-Indian border on a high, India is set to reopen another strategic airfield in Eastern Ladakh that will allow rapid induction of troops to the region.
Work on reviving the Fukche Advanced Landing Ground (ALG), situated at an altitude of 4,200 m barely three kilometers away from the Line of Actual, is almost complete and the first fixed wing aircraft is expected to land at the airbase within a month.
The army, which is keen to reactivate the airbase that is currently only used as a helicopter landing ground, is working full steam to complete the surfacing works at Fuckhe before the snow sets in. The airfield, which was out to use during the 1962 war, will be reactivated after a gap of almost four decades.
The airbase will consist of an unpaved surface (kutcha strip) and will be able to accommodate the AN 32 medium lift aircraft of the Indian Air Force. Once reactivated, it will be the second highest landing field in the world.
"Work on the landing ground is almost complete and we hope to finish it within a few days. The strip will be prepared for landings by fixed wing transport aircrafts," a senior Army officer said.
Air Marshal PK Barbora, Commander in Chief of the Western Air Command, confirmed to the Indian Express that the air force would start trial flights on the refurbished airbase as soon as strengthening works are complete.
... contd.
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