IAF reopens old air base in Ladakh near China border

Indian Air Force made operational an old air base in mountainous Ladakh region of J&K and plans to revive two more soon.

Indian Air Force (IAF) made operational an old air base in mountainous Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir and plans to revive two more soon.

The Daulatbeigh Oldi air base along the Indo-China border was closed 43 years ago.

Now, the IAF plans to revive airfields in Chushul and Fukche along the Indo-China border, sources said.

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An AN-32 transporter plane carrying Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (Western Air Command) P K Barbora landed at the Daulatbeigh Oldi air strip around 0850 hours after flying from Chandigarh.

The air base was set up in 1962 during the Indo-China war and closed in 1965.

Barbora had last week said that the operationalisation of the base will demonstrate to the world that India is capable of manning airfield at such a high altitude.

The air base overlooking the strategic Karakoram pass is just 8 km south of the Chinese border. IAF plans to carry out regular AN-32 transport aircraft flights from Jammu in future.

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“It is a part of our efforts to improve air maintenance of far-flung posts in the region bordering China and Pakistan,” IAF sources said.

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