IL-76MD lands at Nyoma in eastern Ladakh. (Photo: IAF)
New Delhi: The Indian Air Force (IAF) has landed an Ilyushin IL-76MD heavy-lift transport aircraft at Nyoma airbase in eastern Ladakh. The service said it was the highest-altitude landing the type has achieved anywhere in the world.
In a post on X, the IAF said the aircraft touched down at 13,629 feet. It credited the crew’s skill, precision and professionalism and described the landing as proof of the aircraft’s enduring capability. The IAF added that the milestone reinforces India’s strategic airlift capability.
The IL-76MD, which the IAF calls Gajraj, is a four-engine strategic airlifter that carries about 40 tonnes. Landing such a heavy aircraft at Nyoma is demanding. The thin air reduces engine thrust and lift, which means longer take-off and landing runs and little margin for error.
Nyoma, also known as Mudh-Nyoma, is commonly cited as being at about 13,700 feet. It began as an advanced landing ground (ALG) during the 1962 war with China. It stayed largely unused until the IAF reactivated it in 2009 with a landing by an An-32 transport aircraft. The Border Roads Organisation later upgraded it into a full airbase with a 2.7-km runway.
The then IAF chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh inaugurated the base in November 2025 by landing a C-130J Super Hercules on it. The IAF describes Nyoma as the world’s highest fighter-capable airfield, close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.
Other high-altitude landings
Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO)
The IAF reactivated the airstrip in the Karakoram, near the Siachen Glacier, with an An-32 in 2008. On August 20, 2013, a C-130J landed there at 16,614 feet (5,064 metres), the highest landing by that aircraft.
Fukche
The IAF also carried out trial landings at this strip near Demchok, a few kilometres from the LAC.
Kargil
In January 2024, a C-130J made the IAF’s first night landing at the Kargil ALG. It used terrain masking en route, and the sortie doubled as a training mission for the Garud special forces.
Chushul
The Ministry of Defence is reviving the ALG, which lies about 4 km from the LAC.
Defence analysts see the string of landings as part of a broader push to improve logistics and rapid deployment along the northern frontier. The infrastructure upgrades followed the 2020 standoff with China in eastern Ladakh.
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