An Indian Air Force IL-76MD heavy-lift transport has landed at the Mudh-Nyoma airbase in eastern Ladakh, in what is being described as the highest-altitude landing by this type of aircraft anywhere in the world. At 13,700 feet above mean sea level, Nyoma is one of the highest fighter-capable airbase in the world. The highest advanced landing ground though is Daulat Beg Oldie, which lies roughly a little over 250 km north of Nyoma as the crow flies. There is also the Fukche advanced landing ground in the Demchok sector, which lies some 50 km south east of Nyoma. Both Daulat Beg Oldie and Fuckche are not in their current state capable of operations of strategic airlift aircraft such as the Il-76 or the much more capable C-17. The Il-76 regularly operates from the air fields at Thoise in the Shyok valley and from Leh.The airbase is critical for India as it lies close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC), near sensitive sectors such as Demchok and the south bank of the Pangong Tso. Leh and Thoise are much farther from the border, which means longer deployment and reaction times. A forward airfield shortens both, speeds up the movement of troops and supplies, helps with evacuation in emergencies and supports surveillance. Its 3 km long runway can handle fighters and heavy transports. The IAF’s airlift of over 68,000 troops, 90 tanks and 330 infantry combat vehicles during the Galwan crisis showed how much depends on moving men and material quickly. During the 1962 war, the air force had airlifted men and material, directly to Chushul, which lies closer to the LAC. The equipment air lifted then also included six AMX-13 tanks of 20 Lancers.Nyoma was originally built as an advanced landing ground during the 1962 war and lay unused for decades. It was revived on September 18, 2009, when an An-32 landed there. In December 2022, the Border Roads Organisation invited bids to turn it into a full air base, with an estimated cost of Rs 214 crore, and work began in August 2023, with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh laying the foundation stone. On November 12, 2025, the then air chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh formally inaugurated the base by landing a C-130J Super Hercules there, making it the fourth IAF base in Ladakh after Leh, Kargil and Thoise.Across the LAC, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) has built an extensive network of high-altitude air bases across the Tibetan Plateau to strengthen its air operations. Operating at elevations of nearly 3,000 to over 4,300 metres, these facilities face challenges posed by thin air, which reduces aircraft lift and engine performance. Several bases have therefore been equipped with extended runways, hardened aircraft shelters and other infrastructure to support military operations.Key facilities include Qamdo Bamda, at 14,200 feet, Lhasa Gonggar and Ngari Gunsa, both above 14,000 feet and Shigatse at a relatively lower 12,000 feet. China has also developed forward facilities at Damxung, Tingri, Burang and Lhunze, including hardened shelters and extended runways, creating a network of airfields across the plateau close to the frontier with India.China, meanwhile, has built a network of high-altitude air bases across the Tibetan plateau, many with runways of 4,000 to 5,000 metres to make up for thin air. Altitude also costs aircraft payload capability, which Beijing offsets with dense air defence, drone infrastructure and a rail-based logistics network. Nyoma, therefore, is less about matching China base for base than about reducing reaction time and giving the air force more flexibility.
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