India, April 22 -- LUCKNOW The roar of jet engines replaced the hum of traffic on Wednesday as the Indian Air Force (IAF) launched a high-stakes, two-day emergency landing exercise on the Purvanchal Expressway in UP's Sultanpur.

The drill, designed to test the military's ability to use national infrastructure as alternative runways during conflict, saw frontline aircraft operating just feet above the asphalt.

It began with a C-295 transport aircraft making the first landing on the 3.2-km emergency landing facility on the expressway. Over the hours, Jaguar fighters followed with take-offs, while Sukhoi-30 MKI and Mirage-2000 jets executed repeated landing and take-off runs, simulating wartime dispersal and rapid turnaround.

An Mi-17 V5 ...