95% work on the nearly 3-km runway complete, enabling emergency operations of heavy lift military transport aircraft and frontline fighter jets
Airfield will become fully operational by September 2025
Imagine a nearly 3 km runway at a challenging altitude of 13,700 feet, on tough terrain and in harsh weather conditions, where temperatures can drop to as low as minus-35 degrees Celsius, being constructed and readied for emergency operations in a record time of a year!
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Yes, India’s Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has made it possible by completing 95% work on the runway at Mudh in Nyoma subdivision of the newly announced Changthang district of eastern Ladakh as on end of October this year on what was earlier an advanced landing ground (ALG).
The airstrip is now ready for emergency landing of heavy lift aircraft as well as advanced fighter jets of the Indian Air Force (IAF).
With the completion of the other allied infrastructure like hangars for the aircraft, air traffic control building, and hard-standing areas, etc., Mudh-Nyoma will become fully operational for normal flight operations by September 2025 as the highest fighter airfield in the world.
Nyoma is on the southern shores of Pangong Tso lake and Mudh-Nyoma airfield, just 35 kms from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) along the India-China border and about 200 kms from Leh city, is expected to provide a strategic boast to the Indian military for rapid mobilisation, deployment of forces and other resources and carrying out regular air patrol and reconnaissance missions.
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The advanced landing ground was already being utilised for operating a fleet of helicopters, including Mi-17 medium-lift helicopters, CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopters, and AH-64E Apache attack helicopters ever since the armed Galwan clash between the Indian and Chinese troops in 2020 lead to heightened tensions and massive aggressive deployment of troops and heavy weaponry on both sides of the contested border.
Apart from providing strategic military advantage, the Mudh-Nyoma airfield is expected to stimulate economic growth in this remote region by providing improved civilian connectivity to local communities and tourists alike.
According to Colonel Ponung Doming, the first female Colonel rank officer from Arunachal Pradesh with the BRO and Commander of the 755 Border Roads Task Force (BRTF) under Project Himank, the Rs 218 crore project has involved a significant manpower effort, with up to 450 labourers being deployed through harsh summer and winter conditions.
Currently, Leh Kushok Bakula Rimpochee (KBR) Airport serves as the main air hub, with military equipment and other supplies being transported overland to forward positions from there.
