Located just 23 kilometers from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between China and India, the Nyoma air base has a 2.7-kilometer-long runway which is capable of handling fighter jets, transport aircraft and helicopters. The name “Mudh-Nyoma” has been derived from the village of Mudh, located opposite the airbase.
Air Chief Marshal AP Singh was accompanied by Chief of the Western Air Command Air Marshal Jitendra Mishra. Located at an altitude of 13,700 feet above sea level, the Mudh-Nyoma airbase is a key strategic asset due to its proximity to the disputed border with China.
India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh laid the foundation stone for this Rs. 218 crore project in September 2023. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) executed the project, which includes associated infrastructure such as aircraft parking hangars, air traffic control buildings and fortified areas for aircraft parking and maintenance.
Since the military standoff with China began in April 2020, India has accelerated the development of roads, bridges, tunnels, airfields, and helipads in its border areas to enhance mobility and logistics support for its armed forces.
Nyoma airstrip, originally a mud runway, had been inactive for decades after the 1962 Sino-Indian War. It was reactivated in September 2009, when an AN-32 transport aircraft landed there for the first time. Other operational runways in the region are in Leh, Thais and Kargil.
Nyoma, located on the banks of the Indus River, is about 180 kilometers southeast of Leh, where temperatures can drop to minus 20 degrees Celsius in winter.
India is also reviving a defunct Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) at Chushul in eastern Ladakh, near the China border. In military terms, an ALG is a paved earthen runway near a forward area that can be upgraded to handle aircraft, including helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles, if needed.
