India to reactivate another strategic airbase on China border

Manu Pubby Tags : nation, ladakh, express in leh, Posted: Monday , Oct 06, 2008 at 1959 hrs Leh, October 3::

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An Indian Express team begins a trek to Siachen and keeps you posted, every day.

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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.

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Military reactivation in KashmirBy: kaiser | 08-Dec-2008 Reply | Forward Both India and Pakistan have poor populations to feed,and cannot afford the luxury of expensive military operations in high Altitudes. When I first read this story in October,it seemed out of place. Now after the Mumbai attacks, there seems to be a connection , an anticipation or intelligence.It would have cost the Indian government much less to prevent these attacks as compared to construction of The highest and second highest airbases in the world, specially when China is no more an enemy.Conversely it also sets one into thinking that plans made much earlier are already under execution, Mumbai attacks being a Phase of these. With unpopular Governments in both India and Pakistan why are the Military planners leading the innocent and poor towards a Nuclear holoucast.I plead to your intelligensia to stop following paper tigers like B Raman who have worked all their life on Desk jobs and are hell bent on destruction of both the Nuclear Nations at the cost of the poor masses.