In June 2016, the Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari announced that the government was considering developing 'Road Runways' for commercial operations as well. [12][13], In the Winter War of 1939-1940 the Finnish Air Force re-deployed its aircraft to makeshift airfields including frozen lakes to preserve them against Soviet air attack. In 1944 (before the Federal-Aid Highway Act), Congress considered using federal highway funds to build landing strips next to some highways. It’s also hardly a secret with large signs warning of fast approaching aircraft. The other states that will have similar emergency landing air strips include Rajasthan (2), West Bengal (1), Andhra Pradesh (2), Tamil Nadu (2), Jammu & Kashmir (2) and Odisha (1). These airfields are little more than widened sections of pavement that appear to be for emergency or backup use only and may not normally support operations. In VH-FDA. C-27 Spartan, Royal Australian Air Force. An F-16 landing on a public highway, engine roaring as its wheels touch the concrete, is a memorable addition to any driver’s morning commute. And Idaho ANG A-10 pilots regularly train to exploit it. The Viggen and the Gripen were both designed with STOL capability in order to utilize shorter runways. Additional Physical Format: Online version: Principles of highway construction as applied to airports, flight strips, and other landing areas for aircraft. I later found out that it was one of these highway landing strips. The road would need to be swept to remove all debris before any aircraft movement could take place. [31][32], A number of highway strips called NOLA/NOSTA (Notlandepisten) were set up from 1969 to 2004.[33][34][35]. The highway strips can be converted from motorways to airbases typically within 24 to 48 hours. North Korea has built dozens of reserve airstrips along highways and ordinary roads. Nations known to utilize the strategy of highways constructed to double as auxiliary airbases in the event of war are Singapore, Sweden[2] (vägbas, literally meaning "road base"), Finland (maantietukikohta), Germany (NLP-Str - Notlandeplätze auf Straßen, emergency airfields on roads), Poland (DOL - Drogowy Odcinek Lotniskowy, lit. [16] In September 2017, the air force conducted exercises on a number of road bases for the first time in over a decade. The project—the first in Jammu & Kashmir—is among the 13 emergency landing strips planned by the government on highways across the country. During the Cold War, highway strips were systematically built on both sides of the Iron Curtain, predominantly in the two then divided Germanys. [16], Currently Finland conducts drills on its road bases (maantietukikohta), around once a year. Highway landings were a very real possibility if the Cold War ever went hot. [22], The Republic of Singapore Air Force periodically conducts an "alternate runway exercise". One is located on the Limassol–Nicosia Highway (5,200 m or 17,100 ft) and one of the Limassol–Larnaca highway (5,000 m or 16,000 ft). The Srinagar-Banihal highway landing strip will be 3.5-km long and can be constructed in eight months at a cost of nearly Rs 119 crore, the persons cited earlier said. [30][4][5][2], The Swedish Air Force did not practice using their road bases for around a decade in the early 21st century, but in 2015 and 2016 its Saab JAS 39 Gripen fighters participated in Finnish Air Force road base drills. To provide 5.5 Operating Procedure The vegetation abutting emergency runway strip (fly over area) must be clear of all vegetation and large objects over 1.0m in height, 22.5 m either side of the runway strip (Airstrip Standards & Reporting Arrangements - Appendix A). The Six-Day War in 1967 (where the Egyptian Air Force was grounded by a quick surprise attack on air bases) and the introduction of long range attack aircraft (primarily the Su-24) inspired further development, resulting in the Bas 90 system. India successfully tested another runway strip on a stretch of the Agra Lucknow Expressway in Uttar Pradesh on 24 October 2017.[20]. [23] The seventh exercise, "Torrent 2016", was conducted near Tengah Air Base in November 2016. The A-10’s design allows the aircraft to be able to land in a variety of locations, including semi-prepared landing strips and austere sites. In the case of Finnish road airbases, the space needed for landing aircraft is reduced by means of a wire, similar to the CATOBAR system used on some aircraft carriers.[1]. Runway strips shall be inspected and cleared of all stock or native fauna prior to landing. I (an American) was driving in northern Finland a few years ago and a regular two-lane road opened up into a giant expanse like this. Improvements in the Bas 90 system included construction of short backup runways in the direct vicinity of the air bases and further dispersion of ground operations. If you’re driving along, you might notice what looks like a pedestrian crossing … The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has used the M2 motorway as a runway on two occasions: for the first time in 2000 when it landed an F-7P fighter, a Super Mushak trainer and a C-130 and, again, in 2010. The STOL-capability of the Viggen and Gripen allowed for such short runways. The strips are usually 2-to-3.5-kilometre-long (1.2 to 2.2 mi) straight sections of the highway, where any central reservation is made of crash barriers that can be removed quickly (in order to allow airplanes to use the whole width of the road), and other features of an airbase (taxiways, airport ramps) can be built. The Swedish Air Force also took part in the 2015 and 2016 exercises, flying Gripen fighters.[16][17]. They are listed as "Highway" or "Highway Strip". a section of M2 motorway to land its fighter jets to demonstrate its capability. They have since been conducted at later dates and in different areas of the country. In the Cold War highway strips were systematically built on both sides of the Iron Curtain, mostly in the two Germanys, but also in North Korea, Republic of China (Taiwan), Sweden, Switzerland, Poland and Czechoslovakia. Indian Air Force clears 12 national highways as emergency landing strips IAF has cleared 12 national highways as emergency landing airstrips that will enable rescue operation teams to reach affected areas July 30, 2017 12:35 . [10] The third is a much smaller strip located on the Limassol-Paphos Highway near to Paphos International Airport. The first highway strips were constructed near the end of World War II in Nazi Germany, where the well developed Reichsautobahn system allowed aircraft to use the motorways. A C-130 Hercules lands on the A29 Autobahn near Ahlhorn during military exercise 'Highway 84', Highway strip on Autobahn A29 near Ahlhorn. The first Federal-Aid Highway Act came close to including another flight strip program but ultimately did not, and it wasn't part of the second Federal-Aid Highway Act, either [source: Weingroff ]. Royal Flying Doctor Service, PR stunt. [4] The third is a much smaller strip located on the Limassol-Paphos Highway near to Paphos International Airport. On the last occasion, the PAF used a runway section on the M2 motorway on 2 April 2010 to land, refuel and take-off two jet fighters, a Mirage III and an F-7P, during its Highmark 2010 exercise. Bringing doctor and nurse to patients injured in a car accident on the highway. Kortbana (short runway) at former Optand wartime air base, Sweden. As of 2003, only one highway strip is used annually for an exercise. [6], In Pakistan, The M-1 Motorway (Peshawar-Islamabad) and the M-2 Motorway (Islamabad-Lahore) each include two emergency runway sections of 2,700 m (9,000 ft) length each. Combat Aircraft (European Edition) (magazine), September 2003, pages 76-79, Highway doubles as flying doctor landing strip 23 July 2015, RFDS Emergency Landing Strip, Eyre Highway, between Mundrabilla and Madura Pass, Western Australia, "China test flies warplanes on highway strip", "Abandoned and Little-known Airfields: Cyprus, District Larnaca", "Abandoned and Little-known Airfields: Cyprus, District Paphos", "Watch an A-10 land on a highway for the first time since 1984", "U.S. Air Force A-10 Attack Aircraft Practice Landings And Take Offs From Rural Highway And Austere Runway In Estonia", Watch the military drill where Finland launches F-18s off of a highway 4 October 2016, "Indian Air Force(IAF) Mirage -2000 Lands at Yamuna Expressway", "Turning roads into runways may be a stretch and here is why", "Air Force Planes Land On Highway Near Lucknow In 2-Hour Drill", http://www.paf.gov.pk/press_release/uploaded/MOTORWAY-RELEASE02-04-10.pdf, Factsheet: RSAF Exercise Torrent 2016 13 November 2016, Advisory on RSAF Exercise Torrent 2016 3 November 2016, "RSAF to conduct alternate runway exercise at Lim Chu Kang Road from Nov 10 to 14", Fighter jets, including new F-15SG planes, take off from Lim Chu Kang Road in RSAF's Exercise Torrent 13 November 2016, "Se när JAS Gripen landar – mitt på vägen: "Det är old school, "JAS 39 Gripen landar på vägbas på Gotland", Hawker Hunter jets taking off from motorways, L’armée suisse fait décoller des avions Tigers depuis une autoroute (1988), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Highway_strip&oldid=993704976, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2020, Articles containing Finnish-language text, Articles containing Swedish-language text, Articles containing Chinese-language text, Articles containing Russian-language text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 12 December 2020, at 01:31. Washington, D.C. : Public Roads Administration, Federal Works Agency, 1943 At no point was the idea kited of using highways or other roads to land planes on; the proposed landing strips would have been built alongside major highways, with the … Road runway section on Pakistan's M-2 Motorway with removable medians. In Poland, as of 2003, only one highway strip is used annually for an exercise. The purposes of flight strips were (Sharp, et al, 1948): To provide auxiliary landing fields for military purposes and to assist in the dispersal of planes from nearby airports. While not designed for military use, in rural Australia several sections of highway are maintained as potential runways for use by the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia. As with North Korea, South Korea has also established a number of highway strips. But, unlike in Europe and Asia, this highway strip has a more benign purpose — it’s an emergency landing area for the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS). While using highways as landing strips isn’t quite standard operating procedure in most countries, they have been used by some air forces in the past, including Pakistan (pdf) and China. "road airfield section"),[3] Republic of China (Taiwan) (戰備跑道 , lit. Cold War Footage Shows German F-104 Starfighter Landing On Highway Strip (And Ending Nose-down On Grass) September 8, 2019 Aviation Safety / Air … Germany has a number of highway strips (NLP-Str - Notlandeplätze auf Straßen, "emergency airfields on roads"). The highway strips can be converted from motorways to airbases typically within 24 to 48 hours. The first highway strips were constructed near the end of World War II in Nazi Germany, where the well developed Reichsautobahn system allowed aircraft to use the motorways. A highway strip or road runway is a section of a highway or motorway that is specially built to allow landing of (mostly) military aircraft and to serve as a military airbase. The Finnish Air Force uses arresting cables to quickly stop F/A-18s, which were originally designed to operate from aircraft carriers. C-130 Hercules aircraft on taxidrive on the autobahn A29 near city of Ahlhorn during NATO-exercise "Highway 84". [15], As of 2017, all aircraft in the Finnish Air Force are capable of operating from road bases. [11], During the Operation Saber Strike exercises in 2016 and 2018, A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft from the US Air National Guard operated from former Warsaw Pact road runways in Estonia. On the last occasion, the PAF used a runway section on the M2 motorway on 2 April 2010 to land, refuel and take-off two jet fighters, a Mirage III and an F-7P, during its Highmark 2010 exercise. In Hokkaido Prefecture the Japan Self-Defense Forces have Kenebetsu Air Base and Yakumo Sub Base as alternative air bases. To provide landing facilities for civilian flyers. [5] NEW DELHI: Indian Air Force (IAF) has taken a step forward to use highway stretches as “landing strips” in an emergency for fighter aircrafts. The road will need a thicker than normal surface and a solid concrete base. The specialized equipment of a typical airfield are stored somewhere nearby and only carried there when airfield operations start. They also all have aircraft turning areas at either end. The use of highway strips for landing is an emergency measure to be used when the use of airbases is not available during wartime. Road runways can however also be quite small—the short runways built in the Swedish Bas 90 system are commonly only 800 metres (2,600 ft) in length. Taiwan’s Central News Agency said highway take-off and landing drills last took place in 2014. North Korea has established a large number of highway strips to use in case of war. Indeed, while landing a large plane on a highway might seem easier than, say, landing one in the Hudson River, history suggests that’s not necessarily so. The specialized equipment of a typical airfield are stored somewhere nearby and only carried there when airfield operations start. Tamil separatist group LTTE operated in northern Sri Lanka prior to their elimination in 2009, used highways as landing strips. After the Turkish invasion of Cyprus at three highway strips were built in the Greek part of Cyprus, easily recognisable by a runway center line and markings for the touch down zone. [14], Throughout the Cold War the Finnish Air Force maintained a network of secondary airfields including civilian airports and road bases to improve survivability and effectiveness in the event of war. Centre paves the way for highways as landing strips - The Indian Air Force (IAF) successfully landed a Mirage-2000 on the Yamuna Expressway near Mathura on Thursday as part of its trials to use national highways for emergency landing by fighter aircraft. [18] It was built at a cost of ₹13,000 Cr for its combat jets of the IAF, a first for military aviation in the country. A large number of highway strips were built in the former USSR (Аэродромный Участок Дороги, "airfield part of road"). The “Warthog” has the phenomenal ability to use unimproved surface landing strips. Taiwan built a number of highway strips (戰備跑道, lit. The tactic was successful, with Soviet air raids on bases causing little damage and the vastly outnumbered Finnish aircraft scoring a high number of aerial victories. The Defense Highway Act provided flight strips, mostly for military use, that were near highways. Rear view of an A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft as it takes off from the autobahn A29 near city of Ahlhorn during NATO-exercise "Highway 84". India has successfully tested its runway strip on a stretch of the Yamuna Expressway in Uttar Pradesh on 21 May 2015. A number of countries around the world utilise the strategy of highways constructed to double as auxiliary airbases in the event of war. Landing strip that is normally used as a part of a highway, but can be closed either because of a military exercise or emergency landing for aeroplane landing. These were built to allow military aircraft to operate even if their airbases, the most vulnerable targets in any war, are destroyed. Highway strip. These runways allow military aircraft to continue operating even if their regular air bases, some of the most vulnerable targets in any war, are degraded or destroyed. The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has used the M2 motorway as a runway on two occasions: for the first time in 2000 when it landed an F-7P fighter, a Super Mushak trainer and a C-130 and, again, in 2010. [4][5] In the case of Finnish road airbases, the space needed for landing aircraft is reduced by means of a wire, similar to the CATOBAR system used on some aircraft carriers.[6]. A highway strip, road runway or road base is a section of a highway, motorway or other form of public road that is specially built to act as a runway for (mostly) military aircraft and to serve as an auxiliary military air base. Landing on remote highway/emergency RFDS road strip near Birdsville. … Notice the road becoming wider. The idea was never to clutter the highways by allowing planes to land on them, but to build airstrips next to some major highways. An A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft lands on the autobahn A29 near city of Ahlhorn during NATO-exercise "Highway 84". 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