Air Force Aircraft Sets Height Record With Landing at Nyoma Airbase in Ladakh
An IL-76MD transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force landed at Nyoma airbase in eastern Ladakh at 13,629 feet, which the force called a record for this aircraft type.
The Indian Air Force said one of its IL-76MD heavy-lift transport aircraft landed at Nyoma airbase in eastern Ladakh at an altitude of 13,629 feet above sea level, a height it described as a record for landings by this aircraft type. The force shared photographs and a video of the landing and said it reflected the skill and professionalism of the crew. Nyoma lies close to the Line of Actual Control with China, near the Demchok sector and the southern bank of Pangong Tso, areas that have figured in India-China tensions. The airbase has a runway of about three kilometres designed for fighters and heavy transports, and can support surveillance, medical evacuations and the movement of supplies to troops in remote mountain areas. The airbase was first developed during the 1962 India-China war. An-32 aircraft landed there in September 2009, and the full airbase was inaugurated in November 2025.