IAF to set up UAV facility at Leelabari

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IAF to set up UAV facility at Leelabari

NORTH LAKHIMPUR, Nov 12 – The Indian Air Force (IAF) is going to establish its UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) facility at the Leelabari Airport in Lakhimpur district. The facility, which will deploy drones, is meant for reconnaissance along the Indo-China border.
The preliminary survey for the installation of the UAV facility has already been conducted by the IAF in and around Leelabari and an Israeli firm has been given the contract to construct it. Seventy-five bighas of land have been acquired by the IAF near the Leelabari Airport for the Rs 200-crore project.

Meanwhile, the Israeli defence firm has concluded its field studies at the Leelabari Airport and is awaiting departmental clearance to start the works. Though the IAF will use the Leelabari Airport for UAV missions, the civil aviation services will not be affected.

It may be noted that air services to Leelabari from the rest of the country have been suspended since the last couple of months due to the closure of the subsidy to the national carrier. The concerned public here have demanded operation of flights by private airlines at the Leelabari Airport for passengers not only from this part of the State, but also from neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh and its capital, Itanagar. Jet Airways, which operates a daily flight on the Imphal-Guwahati-Kolkata-Bengaluru-Pune route, can add Leelabari at least twice a week for the benefit of this region, a section of the people said.

The Assam Tribune Online

 

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Lakhimpur District.

Source: File:Assam Lakhimpur locator map.svg - Wikimedia Commons

 

[Ray]

Now, this won't be appreciated by China.

 

[drkrn]

it could be a UAV deployment facility not manufacturing one.

imho iaf should use this base for other aerial vehicles to cut down operational costs

 

[Eastman]

A Gandhian decision, a recce surveillance aircraft and that too far away from the border

Leelabari is just an aerodrome, with no establishment from Indian Air Force, to setup an UAV facility they will need to setup from zero except the airstrip..... I doubt if Leelabari even have a facility to refuel air crafts those lands their, Along Airstrip would have been a better bet for such Gandhian surveillance remote control gadgets.