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New world record for C 130 J transport aircraft. Indian Air Force lands C 130 J at Daulat Beg Oldie, altitude of 16,700 feet.
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http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/indian-air-force-super-hercules-c-103j-landing-daulat-beg-oldie-ladakh-china/1/300410.html]
how many fighter aircraft can this base hanger?
Are you talking about the post by Neil?@mods
the article mentions that the base is in aksai chin area which we do not recognize.plz change that word
next time people please observe for such mistakes while posting
o.t
how many fighter aircraft can this base hanger?
Is it a bold move ?NEW DELHI: It was a relatively short 90-minute flight from the Hindon airbase — on the outskirts of the national Capital — but flashed a clear strategic signal across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.
Flexing its muscles in eastern Ladakh, where Indian and Chinese armies have been engaged in regular face-offs, IAF landed a C-130J "Super Hercules" tactical airlift aircraft at the rudimentary airstrip in Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) on Tuesday morning.
At an altitude of 16,614-feet, the "unprepared, compacted airstrip" at DBO is the highest such advanced landing ground (ALG) in the world. More importantly, it overlooks the strategic Karakoram Pass and is just about 7km from the LAC and the China-occupied Aksai Chin region beyond. "The significant capability demonstration by the C-130J underlines that troops and supplies can be ferried to the border on the double if required," said an officer.
Interestingly, the C-130J configured for "special operations" touched down at DBO at 6.54am, just a few hours before the fifth round of the India-China strategic dialogue kicked off here. The DBO sector had flared up when Indian and People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops had pitched tents and carried out banner drills against each other, after the latter intruded 19 km into Depsang valley, during the 21-day standoff in April-May.
Though the C-130J carried only senior IAF officers on Tuesday, the aircraft is capable of swiftly transporting 128 combat-ready soldiers or 92 paratroopers during each hop to forward areas.
"This is the first time an aircraft in the 60-70-tonne weight class has landed at the 7,200-feet airstrip at DBO, a world record at that altitude. Till now, after the DBO airstrip was re-activated in May 2008 after 43 years, only medium-lift Antonov-32 aircraft and helicopters were landing there. A C-130J is capable of airlifting up to 20 tonnes of load, five to six times an AN-32's capacity," said the officer.
India's acquisition of six C-130Js for $1.2 billion and the 10 gigantic C-17 Globemaster-III aircraft for another $4.1 billion is aimed at bolstering its swift power-projection capabilities to counter China's massive build-up of military infrastructure along the LAC.
Incidentally, IAF is set to acquire another six C-130Js, which will be based at Panagarh in West Bengal to take care of the eastern front with China. In fact, the new Army mountain strike corps and four "independent" brigades, to be raised with a total of over 80,000 soldiers, will also be headquartered at Panagarh.
The six C-130Js in the "Veiled Vipers" squadron based at Hindon, under the command of Group Captain Tejbir Singh, are meant for the western sector. "The C-130J flight to DBO showed the IAF is now better placed to meet the requirements of our Army soldiers, who are heavily-dependent on the air bridge for sustenance in these high-altitude and inhospitable areas," said the officer.
India has been slowly but steadily re-activating and upgrading old ALGs like DBO, Nyoma and Fukche in Ladakh as well as Pasighat, Mechuka, Walong, Tuting, Ziro and Vijaynagar in Arunachal Pradesh after a gap of over 40 years. Such ALGs, coupled with road links, will create more access points for Indian armed forces to border areas with both China and Pakistan.
The Nyoma ALG, located 23-km from the LAC at an altitude of over 13,300-feet, for instance, was re-activated when an AN-32 landed there in September, 2009. Having already practiced airdrops of paratroopers at Nyoma, IAF has also chalked out a detailed Rs 3,500 crore project to upgrade the ALG into "a full-fledged airbase" with a 12,000-feet runway capable of handling all kinds of aircraft, including fighters, to ensure "both defensive and offensive options" in the sector.
My bad, didnt notice that. Thanks for merging.Thread already exists.
its ladakh onlyAre you talking about the post by Neil?
The base is indeed in Aksai Chin. Is it that we do not recognize Aksai Chin, or we do not recognize Aksai Chin as part of PRC?
'Aksai Chin' has been used by GoI since the early 50s. Nothing wrong with the term.its ladakh only
DBO is meant for close logistics support by transport aircraft in times of war.I feel the DBO airstrip is too close to border.....It may be useful to replenish stocks during the tensed period before war, but may not be useful during a war.