Prime Minister Narendra Modi will land on the Purvanchal Expressway in a C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft when he comes to inaugurate the 340.8-kilometre road today in Uttar Pradesh's Sultanpur district. He will be accompanied by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh when they land at the airstrip in a C-130 Hercules plane for the inauguration.
India Air Force (IAF)'s C-130J Super Hercules aircraft is built for special forces' operations. This year in September Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Road, Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari landed on a strip for IAF planes on National Highway-925 in Rajasthan's Barmer district aboard the IAF's C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, built for special forces' operations.
About C-130J Super Hercules aircraft
The C-130J also known as the Super Hercules is a military aircraft that offers 'superior performance and capabilities' than Hercules C130.
The C-130J is an aircraft meant for special operations and has the capability to land at short and rough airstrips.
The C-130J Super Hercules aircraft is originally designed and manufactured by American defence company Lockheed Martin.
The C-130J Super Hercules aircraft has a landing distance of 914 metres and a range of 4,000 kilometres.
The C-130J aircraft conducted its first flight in 1996 and completed a million flight hours worldwide by 2013.
As of September 2021, the C-130J Super Hercules aircraft has clocked in over 2 million flight hours.
Indian Air Force (IAF) currently operates 12 C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, the first of which was ordered in 2007.
The Indian Air Force carried out the highest landing of a C-130J in 2013, which is 34.37-metre-long with a wingspan of 40.41 metres.
The 2013 highest landing by the Indian Air Force took place at the Daulat Beg Oldi airstrip in Ladakh at the height of 16,614 ft.
Landings on Expressways
The first-ever IAF aircraft Mirage 2000 successfully landed on the Yamuna expressway in 2015 as part of a trial run.
Mirage 2000 and Su 30 MKI aircrafts showcased 'touch-and-go' manoeuvre during Lucknow-Agra expressway inauguration in November 2016.
In October 2017, a Hercules C-130J landed on the Lucknow-Agra expressway for the first time ever.
'Touch-and-go' manoeuvres were used at the expressway by Mirage 2000 and Sukhoi 30 MKI aircraft.
