Guwahati: When Prime Minister Narendra Modi, aboard a C-130J Super Hercules of the IAF, touches down on the national highway at Moran in Assam’s Dibrugarh district on Saturday morning, it will mark more than the inauguration of the northeast’s first Emergency Landing Facility (ELF). It will mark a moment when India’s highways become runways — symbols of strength, speed, and sovereignty, ready to project power.Barely 300 km from the LAC with China, Moran’s ELF is positioned as a frontline asset. The PMO said ELF “will serve as a critical asset for strategic requirements and emergency response during natural disasters.”
“The ELF has been specially designed and constructed in coordination with the Indian Air Force to support landing and take-off of military and civil aircraft during emergencies,” the PMO added.This 4.2-kilometre stretch dual-use ELF is capable of handling fighter aircraft with up to 40 tonnes and transport aircraft with up to 74 tonnes of maximum take-off weight.Across the border, the Chinese have already tested fighter landings on Tibet’s Lhasa–Nyingchi highway and operate dual-use airports like Nyingchi, just 50 km from the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh.Former military intelligence officer, Brig Ranjit Borthakur (retired) told TOI that China has at least five operational airports in Tibet across the LAC.“As far as the IAF is concerned, we are in a stronger position. The Chinese airfields are located at higher altitudes, which limits payload capacity. By contrast, we enjoy the advantage of operating with higher payloads,” he added.“Over the last five to seven years, the IAF has significantly upgraded its infrastructure in the eastern sector, giving us a distinct edge. If our airfields nearby are damaged, this ELF is immediately available for all types of aircraft. The ELF provides us with an additional operational option,” he said.The Moran ELF complements nearby Sukhoi bases at Chabua and Tezpur; a logistic base at Jorhat; and the CH-47 Chinook helicopter base at Dinjan, creating a layered aviation grid across upper Assam.According to a reply by transport and highway minister Nitin Gadkari in Rajya Sabha in 2022, IAF has identified 28 ELFs, of which the maximum of five are in Assam. “These ELFs are capable of operations by Military Aircraft and can also be used for a similar class of civilian aircraft if required,” Gadkari had stated in his reply.
