Representative image. Indian Air Force, GODL-India, Wikimedia Commons
Why it matters
For anyone following India's border readiness, the landing shows a heavy-lift plane can now use a base 23 to 25 km from the LAC. Dainik Bhaskar wrote that this lets India move heavy weapons, vehicles and large numbers of troops quickly to the border.
An Indian Air Force (IAF) IL-76MD heavy transport plane has landed at the Nyoma airbase in eastern Ladakh, and the IAF says it is the highest-altitude landing the aircraft has made anywhere in the world. The air force announced the landing on its X account on Saturday, 7 November 2026. Officials told Hindustan Times the touchdown took place on Friday, 6 November. The Nyoma airbase sits at about 13,629 feet, according to Hindustan Times and Dainik Bhaskar.
The IL-76MD is a Soviet-origin heavy-lift plane, which Dainik Bhaskar’s headline calls the IAF’s “Gajraj”. The landing came a year after the base opened, between 23 and 25 km from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, according to the reports.
What the IAF said about the IL-76MD landing
In its post, quoted by India Today (with inputs from the Press Trust of India, PTI) and Hindustan Times, the IAF said an 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.” It credited the crew’s “skill, precision, and professionalism” and called the landing a “milestone that reinforces India’s strategic airlift capability.”
The claim is the IAF’s own, and it is specific: it is about this aircraft type, not about every plane or every airfield. Hindustan Times headlined it as the world’s highest-altitude landing; the air force’s quoted words are narrower, and this article keeps to them.
The reports differ slightly on the base’s height and position. Hindustan Times, Dainik Bhaskar and Dainik Jagran’s headline give 13,629 feet. The PTI-based India Today report says “around 13,000 ft”, and The Tribune gave 13,700 feet in November 2025. Hindustan Times and Bhaskar put the base 23 km from the LAC; India Today and Jagran say about 25 km.
Why the Nyoma airbase matters near the LAC
Nyoma, also called Mudh-Nyoma, lies on the banks of the Indus about 180 km southeast of Leh, The Tribune reported when the base became operational in November 2025. It was the fourth IAF base in Ladakh, alongside Leh, Kargil and Thoise, with a mud-surfaced strip also in use at Daulat Beg Oldi for special operations planes, according to that report.
The base has a 2.7 km runway and can handle fighter jets, transport planes and helicopters, Hindustan Times reported. Its allied works include hangars, an air traffic control building and hard standing, the paved areas where aircraft and vehicles park. The upgrade cost ₹218 crore, and a team of women officers led the project, according to the same report.
Nyoma is not the highest of the Ladakh strips Hindustan Times listed. Hindustan Times put Daulat Beg Oldi at 16,614 feet and Fukche at 13,000 feet, so Nyoma sits between the two. The Tribune described Daulat Beg Oldi as a mud-surfaced strip used by special operations planes, while Nyoma now has a paved runway and full base facilities.
A heavy-lift plane on that runway matters because of what it can carry. Dainik Bhaskar wrote that the base lets India move heavy weapons, vehicles and large numbers of troops quickly to the border. The Tribune noted that winter temperatures at Nyoma drop to minus 20°C and that the base’s maintenance facilities have to cater to that cold.
From a 1962 landing ground to an IL-76MD runway: the Nyoma timeline
The airfield has been reopened and rebuilt in stages over 17 years. NewsPlainly put this timeline together from Hindustan Times, The Tribune and a Ministry of Defence photo record of the first landing in 2009.
| When | What happened at Nyoma | Source |
|---|---|---|
| After the 1962 war | The airstrip fell out of use for decades | Hindustan Times |
| 2008 | The IAF reopened Daulat Beg Oldi (May) and Fukche (November), two other Ladakh strips | Hindustan Times |
| 18 September 2009 | An AN-32 transport made the first fixed-wing landing at the Nyoma advanced landing ground | Ministry of Defence photo record; Hindustan Times |
| September 2023 | Defence Minister Rajnath Singh laid the foundation stone for the upgraded airbase | Hindustan Times |
| 2024 | The Border Roads Organisation built a proper runway | The Tribune |
| November 2025 | Then Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh opened the base by landing a C-130J special operations plane | Hindustan Times; The Tribune |
| 6 November 2026 | IL-76MD lands, on the date officials gave Hindustan Times | Hindustan Times |
| 7 November 2026 | IAF announces the landing on X | India Today (PTI); Hindustan Times |
After the military standoff with China began in April 2020, India built roads, bridges, tunnels, airfields and helipads in its border areas to support troop movement and supplies, Hindustan Times reported. India and China reached an understanding in October 2024 on pulling back troops from the friction points in Ladakh, the paper noted.
A change at the top of the IAF before the Nyoma landing
The landing came days after a change at the top. Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh, who opened Nyoma last year, retired as IAF chief on 31 October 2026, and Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit took command a week before the announcement, Hindustan Times reported.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called the project a “game-changer” for the armed forces when he laid its foundation stone in 2023, Hindustan Times recalled. For more national news, see the NewsPlainly India section.
The IAF’s post, as quoted in the reports read for this article, did not say what the plane carried or whether more such flights are planned.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the Nyoma airbase?
Nyoma, also called Mudh-Nyoma, is in eastern Ladakh on the banks of the Indus, about 180 km southeast of Leh, The Tribune reported. Reports place it 23 to 25 km from the LAC with China.
Is the IL-76MD landing a world record?
The IAF said it was the highest-altitude landing ever achieved by the IL-76MD anywhere in the world. That is the air force's claim, and it is about this aircraft type, not about all aircraft.
When did the IL-76MD land at Nyoma?
Officials told Hindustan Times the landing was on Friday, 6 November 2026, and the IAF announced it on X on Saturday, 7 November. Dainik Bhaskar reported it as a Saturday landing.
When was the Nyoma airbase opened?
Then Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh opened it in November 2025 by landing a C-130J. The first fixed-wing landing there was by an AN-32 on 18 September 2009.