Tamil separatist group LTTE operated in northern Sri Lanka prior to their elimination in 2009, used highways as landing strips. The road will need a thicker than normal surface and a solid concrete base. They also all have aircraft turning areas at either end. [19] In Poland, as of 2003, only one highway strip is used annually for an exercise. 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. The STOL-capability of the Viggen and Gripen allowed for such short runways. [22], The Republic of Singapore Air Force periodically conducts an "alternate runway exercise". 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. 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. Signs, street lights and other fixtures were removed, and landing equipment installed temporarily, which included mobile arresting gear for the first time. 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]. 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. [31][32], A number of highway strips called NOLA/NOSTA (Notlandepisten) were set up from 1969 to 2004.[33][34][35]. As with North Korea, South Korea has also established a number of highway strips. They have since been conducted at later dates and in different areas of the country. Kortbana (short runway) at former Optand wartime air base, Sweden. The Defense Highway Act of 1941 did provide for a series of emergency flight strips to be placed near highways nationwide, but that program was phased out by the time Congress began planning the interstate system in earnest in 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. Highway landings were a very real possibility if the Cold War ever went hot. The project—the first in Jammu & Kashmir—is among the 13 emergency landing strips planned by the government on highways across the country. Additional Physical Format: Online version: Principles of highway construction as applied to airports, flight strips, and other landing areas for aircraft. The “Warthog” has the phenomenal ability to use unimproved surface landing strips. A large number of highway strips were built in the former USSR (Аэродромный Участок Дороги, "airfield part of road"). 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. 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. 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". [16] In September 2017, the air force conducted exercises on a number of road bases for the first time in over a decade. [21], A large number of highway strips (DOL - Drogowy Odcinek Lotniskowy, lit "road airfield section") were built during the Cold War in Poland. Landing on remote highway/emergency RFDS road strip near Birdsville. 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. 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. F-15SG and F-16C/D fighters participated in the 2016 exercise.[24][25][26][27]. 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. And Idaho ANG A-10 pilots regularly train to exploit it. [5] To provide "war spare runway"). The road will need a thicker-than-normal surface and a solid concrete base. In March 2019, Pakistan also used 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 VH-FDA. 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. [16], Currently Finland conducts drills on its road bases (maantietukikohta), around once a year. Royal Flying Doctor landing strip runway on the Silver City Highway in NSW. 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). The road would need to be swept to remove any debris before use by aircraft. India has successfully tested its runway strip on a stretch of the Yamuna Expressway in Uttar Pradesh on 21 May 2015. The highway strips can be converted from motorways to airbases typically within 24 to 48 hours. I later found out that it was one of these highway landing strips. The four emergency runway sections become operational by removing removable concrete medians using forklifts. They are listed as "Highway" or "Highway Strip". 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. 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. a section of M2 motorway to land its fighter jets to demonstrate its capability. A tiny airplane made an emergency landing in the middle of traffic on a Quebec highway.Pilots of all kinds of planes must be prepared to try to … The four emergency runway sections become operational by removing removable concrete medians using forklifts. 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. It’s also hardly a secret with large signs warning of fast approaching aircraft. [23] The seventh exercise, "Torrent 2016", was conducted near Tengah Air Base in November 2016. 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 . Taiwan’s Central News Agency said highway take-off and landing drills last took place in 2014. C-130 Hercules aircraft on taxidrive on the autobahn A29 near city of Ahlhorn during NATO-exercise "Highway 84". "war spare runway"), former USSR (Аэродромный Участок Дороги, "airfield part of road"). 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. As of 2003, only one highway strip is used annually for an exercise. 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. In the Baana 16 exercise in 2016 the Finnish Air Force flew F/A-18C and BAE Hawk, Pilatus PC-12 and C295M aircraft from a highway in Lusi. The idea was never to clutter the highways by allowing planes to land on them, but to build airstrips next to some major highways. [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. The strips are usually 2 to 3.5 kilometres (1.2 to 2.2 mi) long 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. [citation needed] In 2014 Chinese forces landed warplanes on a highway strip in Henan province for the first time. During the Cold War, highway strips were systematically built on both sides of the Iron Curtain, predominantly in the two then divided Germanys. The road would need to be swept to remove all debris before any aircraft movement could take place. [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]. 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