India Opens Air Base Near China Border, Super Hercules Aircraft Lands

In a major booster shot for military capabilities in eastern Ladakh, India on Wednesday operationalised its new Nyoma airbase close to the frontier with China, even as a large Army exercise called 'Poorvi Prachand Prahar' is now under way in Arunachal Pradesh on the eastern front.

The developments at the opposite ends of the 3,488-km LAC underscore the high military readiness being maintained along the China frontier. "There is ongoing reset in bilateral diplomatic ties. Military CBMs are also being progressively strengthened but the trust deficit on the ground remains high," a senior officer told TOI. "With no de-escalation along LAC, troops will continue to be forward deployed for 6th successive winter since multiple Chinese incursions into eastern Ladakh in April-May 2020," he said.

IAF chief Air Chief Marshal A P Singh himself flew a C-130J 'Super Hercules' aircraft from Hindon on the outskirts of Delhi to the Mudh airfield at Nyoma, among the world's highest at an altitude of 13,710 feet, to formally inaugurate the strategically located airbase. He was accompanied by Western Air Command chief Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra.

Located just about 35 km from the LAC, Nyoma has undergone an upgrade worth Rs 230 crore, which included extending the original airstrip into a 2.7-km 'rigid pavement' runway, a new ATC complex, hangars, crash bay and accommodation, as was earlier reported by TOI.

The Mudh airfield is now fully capable of handling and sustaining operations by heavy-lift transport planes and fighter jets from both directions. Primarily, it will help quickly rush troops, weapons and supplies to areas such as Pangong Tso, Demchok and Depsang in eastern Ladakh.

The airfield will also be available for fighter operations by early 2026 though high altitude will be a limiting factor. China has assiduously upgraded all its airbases facing India over the last five years to offset the terrain constraints due to high-altitude and rarefied air, which limits the weapon and fuel-carrying capacity of aircraft.

China now has additional fighters, including advanced J-20 stealth fighters, as well as bombers, reconnaissance aircraft and drones deployed at its airfields like Hotan, Kashgar, Gargunsa, Shigatse, Bangda, Nyingchi and Hoping. It has also built many new heliports all along the LAC.

In the far reaches of the Eastern Himalayas, thousands of soldiers from the 3 Spear Corps of the Indian Army, along with elements of IAF, ITBP and others, are now also engaged in the 'Poorvi Prachand Prahar' exercise in the high-altitude terrain of Mechuka and other areas of Arunachal Pradesh.

From airlift and force projection to mountain warfare manoeuvres and multi-domain integrated operations, the exercise aims at validating rapid mobilisation, operational logistics and precision-strike capabilities. "The right force must reach the right place at the right time during conflicts," an officer said.

While Nyoma will be another operational base for the IAF in Ladakh after Leh, Kargil and Thoise airfields and the Daulat Beg Oldie ALG (advanced landing ground), India has also progressively upgraded the infrastructure at ALGs like Pasighat, Mechuka, Walong, Tuting, Along and Ziro in Arunachal Pradesh. Similarly, civil ALGs in the middle sector (Uttarakhand, Himachal) of the LAC are also now being increasingly used for military purposes.