Kargil, Nyoma to be beefed up as major air bases

New Delhi: As part of its efforts to beef up security-related infrastructure in the country's north and north-east the ministry of defence (MoD) is all set to clear a proposal to develop the airfield at Kargil as a full-fledged transport base by 2016. This upgrade would allow the Indian Air Force to operate both medium and heavy-lift planes as well as fighter aircraft from this base located adjacent to Ladakh.

Speaking at the annual press conference, the IAF chief, air chief marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne, said Monday that the IAF will expand the 6,000-foot runway at Kargil to enable operations of all major transport aircraft, such as the Soviet-origin Il-76 heavy-lift planes, the newly-ordered Boeing C-17 heavy-lift aircraft and the recently acquired Lockheed C-130J Super Hercules.

ACM NAK Browne was interacting with the media ahead of the Indian Air Force Day on 8 October.

Soviet-origin medium-lift An-32 transport planes are already in operation at the Kargil airfield.

The Kargil region became a theatre of war when Pakistani forces tried to establish a base here in 1999. They were beaten back with heavy losses.

The Kargil airfield had been activated in 1996 for civilian operations and it was being operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) till the Kargil war, when operations were taken over by the air force.