Nagpur: The fleet of IL-76 aircraft, popularly known as Gajraj, may be moved out of the airbase at Sonegaon and stationed in the northern sector. These massive transport aircraft, procured from the erstwhile USSR, are presently placed under the Indian Air Force's (IAF) 44 Squadron stationed here.
The IAF station at Nagpur is also affected by some local problems, due to the Mihan project. A land deal on which the Mihan project hinges is pending between the IAF and Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC). IAF land is needed to build the project, in lieu of which MADC proposes to compensate IAF with a bigger tract of land elsewhere. The delay in this deal is reported to have held up the growth of both Mihan as well as the airbase.
However, this stalemate is not the reason for the translocation of the IL-76s, say sources. The move is being contemplated for operational convenience of the IAF. Keeping aircraft of a single make at one place is a typical strategy when force is low on fleet. Presently, India has fewer than 20 IL-76s.
23/06/11 Shishir Ayra/Times of India
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