An Indian Air Force IL-76MD strategic transport aircraft has scripted history with a successful landing at Nyoma in southern Ladakh, marking the highest-altitude landing ever achieved by this aircraft anywhere in the world.“A remarkable demonstration of the aircraft’s enduring capability, backed by the exceptional skill, precision, and professionalism of its crew,” the IAF said on Saturday. “A milestone that reinforces India’s strategic airlift capability.”Nyoma, at an altitude of 13,629 feet, is a newly built airfield, just about 35 km from the Line of Actual Control that was completed last year. Earlier, it was a mud-pack airstrip generally serviced by tactical transporters like the AN-32, and helicopters. It is now a full-fledged base capable of operating fighter aircraft.Nyoma has a 3-km-long concrete runway built by the Border Roads Organisation’s Project Himank, which is weather-resilient and engineered to withstand extreme sub-zero temperatures dropping down to minus 40 degrees Celsius.Its location of about 180 km south-east of Leh and its ability to handle heavy aircraft drastically cuts response and mobilisation times for troops, supplies and air cover along the northern frontier.Besides Nyoma, other airfields with paved runways in Ladakh are Leh, Thoise and Kargil. In addition, there are two advanced landing grounds, with mud-topped strips at Fukche and Daulat Beg Oldi, which at 16,700 feet is the world’s highest airstrip.The IL-76 aircraft were inducted into the IAF in the mid-1980s and have formed a crucial element of the heavy lift capability. These can airlift about 45 tonnes of load and have earlier been deployed to ferry tanks, armoured vehicles and heavy equipment to Ladakh as well as the northeast, besides undertaking overseas missions.IL-76 fly regularly on logistics missions to Leh and Thoise in Ladakh. These airfields, recently upgraded, are located at an altitude of about 10,000 feet. Thoise military airfield in the Skyok Valley is crucial for supporting operations in Siachen.The IL-76 equipped No. 44 Squadron, earlier based at Nagpur, and one flight of No. 25 Squadron at Chandigarh. A few years ago, the IAF merged all its IL-76 aircraft into a single unit, No. 44 Squadron and relocated it to Chandigarh. No.25 Squadron, which also had AN-32 aircraft, was moved to Gujarat.Apart from the IL-76, the IAF’s strategic fleet has the US-made Boeing C-17 Globemaster based at Hindon. Inducted in 2013, these have a higher payload capacity than the IL-76. Other transport aircraft used by the IAF are the C-130, AN-32, C-295 and Dornier-228.