Yes, Mirage landing on Yamuna Expressway is a big thing but Pakistan did it way before us

The first-ever test landing of a Mirage-2000 on the Yamuna Expressway near Mathura on 21 May is a laudable feat by Indian Air Force (IAF) having huge strategic import but the flip side is that many countries, including Pakistan, have done it much before India. In fact, Pakistan has done it twice, first time way back in 2000 and then again in 2010. But better late than never. Road runways have been used by many countries during war times and first such instance had come 70 years ago during the fag end of World War II by Hitler’s forces. The idea behind road runways is that during war times landing strips are the obvious first targets of the enemy and a nation has to have a large number of viable alternatives. That is why nations world over use national highways and civil airstrips for emergency landing by fighter jets. [caption id=“attachment_2255774” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Mirage 2000 fighter jet lands on Yamuna Expressway in trial exercise. IBN[/caption] This explains the importance of having many more smooth and long expressways like the Yamuna Expressway. This also explains the Indian government’s deep focus on having a large network of expressways – and this definitely predates the Modi government. Soon after the successful test landing the IAF made it clear in a press statement that it intends to activate more such highway strips in future. The IAF statement said: “The aircraft made a practice approach on the highway, coming down to a height of 100 metres 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 has plans to activate more such stretches on highways in the future.” Highway strips are strategic assets for a nation which double up as auxiliary bases in war times. Many European countries have used this tactic for decades, particularly Germany, Sweden, Finland and Poland. Countries like China, Taiwan, Singapore and Australia too have done so many times before. But what should bring a reality check for the Indians is the fact that Pakistan has done it twice before – first in 2000 and then again in 2010. The first time Pakistan achieved the feat was way back in the year 2000 when Pakistan Air Force (PAF) used the M2 motorway (Islamabad-Lahore) as a runway on two occasions. For those who have an appetite for technical details, Pakistan’s M-1 Motorway (Peshawar-Islamabad) and the M-2 Motorway (Islamabad-Lahore) each include two emergency runway sections of 2,700 m (9,000 ft) length each. The four emergency runway sections become operational by removing removable concrete medians using forklifts. PAF used the M2 motorway as a runway for the first time in 2000 when it landed an F-7P fighter, a Super Mushak trainer and a C-130. PAF did it again in 2010 by using a runway section on the M2 motorway on 2 April 2010 to land, refuel and take-off two jet fighters, a Mirage III and an F-7P, during its Highmark 2010 exercise. India has finally woken up to the need to have many road runways. The Agra-Lucknow expressway is the first Indian road runway. There are many prerequisites for having road runways. For example, there should be a smooth road at least three kilometers long. Moreover, the road segment has to be straight, leveled, located on non-undulating ground without slope and must not have electricity poles, masts, or mobile phone towers. For a country like India, whose worst security nightmare is having to fight a two-pronged war with Pakistan and China, road runways are crucial. This underlines the importance of expressways – the highest class of roads which are six-or-eight-lanes controlled-access highways. As of now, India boasts of 23 expressways totaling a length of 1324 kms, but the truth is that all of these so-called “expressways” are misnomers. If one goes by the strict definition of “expressways”, India has under 1000 kms of such network; and barely a couple of hundred kms network if one goes by the international parameters. In other words, the more international-class expressways India has, the more Indian strategic interests are secure. The moral of the story: expressways are not only lifelines for transportation but also key assets for national security.