India converts a roadway near the Chinese border into a runway for Rafales and Globemasters

India will open its first highway airstrip in its northeastern region, just a few hundred kilometers from the Line of Actual Control (LAC). On Saturday, February 14, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make the first landing on the 4.2-kilometer Emergency Landing Facility (ELF) section of a National Highway in the Dibrugarh district of Assam.

A massive airshow will feature about 16 Indian Air Force aircraft, including Sukhois and Rafales. There will likely be a number of fighter jets landing on the highway runway. In Upper Assam, close to India’s eastern border with China, is the ELF section of the Dibrugarh-Moran National Highway.

Officials say it boosts national security and disaster preparedness. Geo intelligence expert Damien Symon on X said, “This airstrip enhances dispersed and survivable air power in crisis scenarios.”

Videos of IAF Rafale fighter jets and a C-17 Globemaster transport plane performing touch-and-go maneuvers and landings on the highway strip surfaced on social media a few days prior to its inauguration. The majority of India’s ELFs are located in the country’s central, northern, and western regions. Near the Chabua Air Force Station (AFS), this is the first ELF in northeastern India.India has transformed a section of the Dibrugarh-Moran National Highway into an Emergency Landing Facility for the Indian Air Force, opening up yet another strategic opportunity.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will set foot on the recently constructed strip. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “The PM will be flying from New Delhi to Chabua Air Force base on Saturday morning. From there, he will take a flight and land at the Moran ELF in the district”.

In collaboration with the IAF, the 4.2-kilometer section between Moran and Demow has been developed. During emergency or wartime circumstances, fighter jets and heavier aircraft can land on these highway strips. These ELFs are intended to act as backup runways in the event that airbases are attacked or made unusable. There are 28 to 29 Emergency Landing Facilities (ELFs) that need to be built throughout India, according to the Indian Air Force and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. There are about 15 facilities in different states that are reportedly ready or operational.

The Purvanchal Expressway (Uttar Pradesh), the NH-925A in Barmer (Rajasthan), the Ganga Expressway, and the Taj Expressway all have emergency landing facilities. Given its closeness to the Line of Actual Control with China, this Assamese facility—the first in the Northeast—acquires additional significance. In response to concerns in eastern Ladakh, India has recently increased border infrastructure in the Northeast.

India’s “strategic resolve” is demonstrated by the merging of a runway and a highway, according to Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on X. “The Dibrugarh-Moran stretch of the National Highway in Assam can transform from a seamless road into an Emergency Landing Facility for India’s frontline jets and transport,” he wrote.