Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jets and transport aircraft will be taking off and landing throughout the day and night on a newly built 3.5-kilometer airstrip built as part of the Ganga Expressway in Shahjahanpur. Uttar Pradesh is the first state in the country to have a night landing facility for fighter jets on an expressway.

The Jaguar, which is a precision strike aircraft for ground attack and anti-ship missions, and the MIG-29, a speedier aircraft capable of high flights and capable of dodging radar, will be the first two aircraft to land on the airstrip.

On Friday morning, Chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh state government Manoj Kumar Singh arrived in Shahjahanpur. Senior officials of the state government and the Indian Air Force are also in Shahjahanpur to see the mega event today.

Fighter jets of the IAF will land and take off on the airstrip during daylight, and then again between 7 pm and 10 pm. They will conduct lower fly-pasts at a height of one metre, and then move onto landing and take-off trials.

The well-known combat aircraft of the Indian Air Force that would take part in the drill are the Rafale, SU-30 MKI, MIRAGE-2000, MiG-29, Jaguar, C-130J SUPER HERCULES, AN-32 and MI-17 V5 helicopter.

The Ganga Expressway will be the fourth expressway in the state that will have an airstrip for fighter jets of the Indian Air force while the other three airstrips are at Agra-Lucknow Expressway in Unnao, the Purvanchal Expressway in Sultanpur, and the Bundelkhand Expressway in Etawah. The Ganga Expressway will be the first such expressway in Uttar Pradesh and across the country that would have a night-landing facility.