LEH: A four-engine heavy-lift aircraft that carries about 40 tonnes has landed at an airfield 13,629 feet above sea level. The Indian Air Force says no aircraft of this type has touched down that high anywhere.
The IAF announced on Saturday that it had landed an IL-76MD at Nyoma in eastern Ladakh. The service calls the aircraft Gajraj. The touchdown was on Friday; the announcement came a day later.
"13,629 feet. A new height in aviation history," the IAF said in its post. The claim is the IAF's own and covers this aircraft type only.
The IL-76 is a four-engine heavy transport used to move troops, vehicles and bulky equipment quickly. Nyoma sits roughly 23 to 25 km from the Line of Actual Control with China. The airfield there was inaugurated in November 2025.
Why does the landing matter? At altitude the air is thin, which cuts lift and demands a longer runway. Getting a heavy aircraft down and back up at that height is a test of both machine and crew. In winter, when many road links into Ladakh close, the air route becomes the main one.
Eastern Ladakh has seen sustained spending on infrastructure in recent years, and the development of the Nyoma airfield is read as part of that.
The IAF has confirmed the landing was successful. It has not said how long the landing took, what load was carried, or whether Nyoma will now see regular fixed-wing operations.
The capability is being read against the wider tension along the border, where both India and China have built up positions and access routes since 2020.