India has transformed a 4.2-kilometre stretch of the Dibrugarh-Moran National Highway in Assam's Dibrugarh district into the Northeast's first Emergency Landing Facility (ELF) for the Indian Air Force. 

This strategic development, located just a few hundred kilometres from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, enhances India's air power projection in a sensitive border region.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to land on this highway airstrip on Saturday, 14 February, marking its official operationalisation. Flying from New Delhi to Chabua Air Force Station before transferring to the ELF, the Prime Minister's visit underscores the facility's national importance.

The event will feature a mega airshow involving around 16 IAF aircraft, including Rafale fighters, Sukhoi jets, and heavy-lift platforms such as the C-17 Globemaster. Several jets are expected to perform landings and touch-and-go manoeuvres, demonstrating the strip's capability to handle frontline combat and transport aircraft.

Days ahead of the inauguration, Rafale fighters and a C-17 Globemaster already conducted successful trial landings on the reinforced highway section between Moran and Demow. Developed in coordination with the IAF, the ELF can seamlessly switch from road to runway during emergencies or wartime.

ELFs serve as vital alternate airstrips when primary airbases are targeted or unusable, bolstering dispersed air operations and survivability. Officials highlight their role in national security and disaster response, particularly in the logistically challenging Northeast terrain near borders with China, Bangladesh, and Myanmar.

Geo-intelligence expert Damien Symon noted on X that the airstrip significantly enhances "dispersed and survivable air power in crisis scenarios." Minister of Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia echoed this, describing the highway-runway fusion as a testament to India's "strategic resolve."

This is India's first ELF in the Northeast, close to Chabua AFS, contrasting with the 15 or so existing facilities concentrated in the western, northern, and central regions. Other operational ELFs include those on Rajasthan's NH-925A in Barmer, Uttar Pradesh's Purvanchal and Ganga Expressways, and the Taj Expressway.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, alongside the IAF, has identified 28-29 such sites nationwide, with recent activations featuring night-landing capabilities for Rafales and Sukhois. The Assam facility assumes heightened significance amid ongoing border infrastructure upgrades following eastern Ladakh tensions.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma confirmed the airshow's scale, with Rafales, Sukhois, and possibly C-130J Super Hercules participating in fly-pasts or landings within a 30-minute display. These assets are essential for rapid troop deployments and logistics in border areas.

Post-event, PM Modi will proceed to Guwahati to inaugurate a new Brahmaputra bridge, IIM Guwahati's temporary campus, and an AI-enabled hyperscale data centre—his third Assam visit in three months ahead of likely March-April assembly elections.

The ELF represents a leap in India's military preparedness, turning civilian infrastructure into wartime assets and signalling robust defence modernisation in the strategically vital Northeast.

Agencies