IAF IL-76 makes world-record landing at 13,629-ft Nyoma

An Indian Air Force IL-76MD “Gajraj” has landed at the Mudh-Nyoma airbase in eastern Ladakh at 13,629 feet, marking the highest-altitude landing ever achieved by the heavy-lift aircraft anywhere in the world, the IAF said on Saturday (7 November).

The landing took place on Friday, officials told Indian Express and Hindustan Times. Nyoma lies about 23–25 km from the Line of Actual Control with China and was inaugurated as a full airbase only a year ago, after a Rs 218 crore BRO upgrade that built a 2.7-km runway.

“13,629 FEET. A NEW HEIGHT IN AVIATION HISTORY,” the IAF wrote on X. “An Indian Air Force IL-76MD has scripted history with a successful landing at Nyoma, marking the highest-altitude landing ever achieved by the aircraft anywhere in the world… A milestone that reinforces India’s strategic airlift capability.”

Why it matters: an IL-76MD can haul roughly 40–45 tonnes depending on conditions, including heavier platforms such as tanks and BMPs. A C-130J had landed at Daulat Beg Oldie (16,614 ft) in 2013, but that is a different, lighter class of aircraft. Putting a heavy strategic freighter into Nyoma changes how quickly the Army can be resupplied in eastern Ladakh.

The Nyoma strip was reactivated with an AN-32 landing in 2009 after decades of disuse post-1962. Former Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh landed a C-130J there when the upgraded base opened in November 2025. India and China have disengaged at Ladakh friction points since October 2024, but full de-escalation is incomplete; the IAF framed the IL-76 landing as proof of enduring airlift reach.