What is Super Hercules Aircraft which will land PM Modi on Purvanchal Expressway? - Explained

What is Super Hercules Aircraft? Prime Minister Narendra Modi will land on Purvanchal Expressway through C-130J Super Hercules Today. PM Modi is visiting UP on a special visit and will be inaugurating the Purvanchal Expressway at Karwal Kheri in Sultanpur district at 1:30 PM in the afternoon. The express-way has been envisioned as a dream project of the Yogi Adityanath led UP Government. As per a statement issued by Uttar Pradesh Expressway and Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) CEO Avanish Awasthi, “the Purvanchal Expressway project was completed in record time despite severe restrictions caused by the Covid pandemic.”

C-130J Super Hercules aircraft to take PM to Purvanchal Expressway

Prime Minister landing on Purvanchal Expressway in a C-130J Super Hercules aircraft is a unique event and will surely capture imagination of common people. However, this is not the first time that a Super Hercules Aircraft has landed on an express way. Previously also, the Indian Air Force has conducted a mock emergency landing on NH-925 in Rajasthan's Barmer district with C-130J Super Hercules aircraft. Let’s know what a Super Hercules Aircraft is and how it is able to land on a National Highway or Expressway with ease!

Super Hercules C-130J by Lockheed Martin

C-130J is an military transport aircraft which was originally designed and manufactured by American defence company Lockheed Martin. The aircraft is also known as Super Hercules is the latest iteration of the Hercules C130, which offers “superior performance and capabilities”. The aircraft took its first flight in 1996 and completed a million flight hours worldwide by 2013. The aircraft’s size is 34.37-metre-long with a wingspan of 40.41 metres. Super Hercules C-130J has the unique ability to to land at short and rough airstrips which makes it an ideal military aircraft for a series of special operations. Super Hercules has landing distance of 914 metres and a range of 4,000 kilometres.

Super Hercules C-130J in India

In Indian Context, the IAF – Indian Air Force, currently operates 12 C-130J Super Hercules aircraft. India had ordered purchased six C-130J-30s in early 2008 for special operations in a package deal with the US government. After the Super Hercules C-130J were inducted by IAF, it also carried out the highest landing of Super Hercules aircraft at the Daulat Beg Oldi airstrip in Ladakh at the height of 16,614 ft.

Super Hercules C-130J on National Highways and Expressways

PM Modi’s flight in Super Hercules C-130J will not be the first time that the aircraft will land on Expressway. Earlier, C-130J has also performed emergency landings on National Highways and Expressways. In October 2017, a Hercules C-130J landed on the Lucknow-Agra expressway for the first time ever. ‘Touch-and-go’ maneouvres were used at the expressway by Mirage 2000 and Sukhoi 30 MKI aircraft. In another similar development, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Road, Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari also landed on National Highway-925 in Rajasthan’s Barmer district, which was earmarked as an emergency landing strip for Indian Air Force planes on 9^th Sept 2021. The 3.5-km strip on the national highway in Barmer is expected to aid the IAF during times of war as well as relief operations for national calamities.

Also Read: PM Modi in UP: Prime Minister to inaugurate Purvanchal expressway in Sultanpur district of Uttar Pradesh today